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Bharati’s letters

Subramania Bharati’s letters to The Hindu, (April 6) written in the pre-Independence days in Victorian English, bring out his writing skills in the language. His English writing is as powerful as his writing in Tamil, he is much ahead of his times and his views on politics are still relevant. His tribute to Sri Aurobindo and G. Subramania Iyer reveals his hidden talent. The Hindu deserves to be congratulated on the valuable discovery.

K. Panchapagesan,

Chennai

A letter Subramania Bharati wrote to Ramsay Macdonald, leader of the British Labour party, was published in The Hindu on February 10, 1914, under the caption ‘Police rule in India.’ In this, Bharati had detailed how he was hounded by the British police, their informers and spies during his stay in Pondicherry. This letter even figured in a discussion in the then Madras Legislative Assembly.

Many would be surprised to know that Bharati was the editor of Bala Bharati, an English monthly, founded by the renowned Dr. Nanjunda Rao. Bharati’s mastery over English is nothing surprising, as he was inspired by P.B. Shelly, John Keats and Walt Whitman, and he called himself Shelly Dasan. In 1902, he created a Shelly fans club in Chennai.

T.S. Pattabhi Raman,

Coimbatore

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