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Subramania Bharati with his wife.

A highlight of the festival is the procession of a palanquin carrying a portrait of Bharati. The event starts at 9 a.m. on December 11. The Bharati award, conferred on a litterateur, goes to writer Jayakanthan. He will receive the title from Kumari Anandan.

Advocate and founder of Vanavil Cultural Centre, K. Ravi, was invited to deliver a lecture at the ‘Bharati 125’ festival organised by the Tamil population in Paris, France. Excerpts:

The Bard of Ettayapuram had close connections with the French that aptly justify his 125th birthday being celebrated in Paris. It was the French Territory of Pondicherry that gave Bharati shelter when the British police were after him. It was Sister Nivedita who lit the spark of spiritual enlightenment as he himself acknowledged in a preface to one of his publications. In one of his poetic letters [Cheetu Kavi], he declares that his verses were being translated, read and praised in France. Though Barathi was born in a remote village in South India and constantly lived in penury, his vision was grand and rich. He wrote not only poems but several articles in various journals about such diverse subjects like the prison reforms in America, the Russian revolution, the proceedings of the French Parliament, the barbarian practice of binding the feet of the young female children in China, etc.

Despite his scathing attack on the British rule in India, he titled the journal that he started for the emancipation of women as “Chakravarthini” (The Empress) and explained that he wanted the Indian woman to emulate the Great Emperess Victoria. When Lord Curzon, the Governor General of India, whose misrule Barathi had severely criticised, lost his wife and in that connection a patriotic journal “Amirtha Bazar” had observed that it was a punishment given by God to Curzon, Bharati did not hesitate to condemn such observation as inhuman.

There might have been several prophets who came to spread the message of God. However, Bharati was the sole ambassador of the humanity who raised his voice in defence of all the creatures of the Earth. In one of his verses he says that from Gnana Akasa or the Sky of Wisdom he would bless this Earth so that all the creatures might live in peace and bliss and he further demands that the Almighty shall pay heed to this and say “Amen” or “Let it be so.” In another verse, he pleads that he must be empowered to protect this world with his poetic fervour.

Bharati’s vision engulfed not only all living beings but also the entire world of the inanimate. He revels in ecstasy thus: “Crows and sparrows are my creed…The Oceans and mountains my kins…” He is truly a world poet with a Cosmic Vision.

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