Remembering the bard
ROHINI RAMAKRISHNAN
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December 11 was Bharathiar's birth anniversary. The poet continues to live through his writings that portray his simplicity and genius.
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Photo: S.R. Raghunathan
NOW A HERITAGE SITE: The house in which Bharathiar lived.
"Odivilaiyadu pappa, nee oinththirukkalahathu papa, koodi villaiyadu pappa... " are words of a song that is familiar to children.
This song, "Pappa pattu," was written by Subramania Bharathiar whose birth anniversary falls on December 11.
Born in Ettaiyapuram in 1882, Bharathiyar as he is affectionately known, lived in a little house on T.P. Koil Street, Triplicane, Chennai, for a brief period (between 1920 and 1921 to be exact).
The house, if it can be called that, is hardly a 10x10 portion. Modified, it now houses the "Bharathiar Illam", a heritage site that is "a must visit place" in Chennai.
The soul stirring verses of the poet hangs on each gate on either side of the road as one turns into the street.
The picture of the familiar benign smiling face of the turbaned bard greets us. His actual photograph though depicts a rather gaunt figure with a bushy beard and piercing black eyes. It is thought he wore the turban as he was going bald.
There are black and white pictures of family and friends and of the houses he lived in at Ettaiyapuram and Pondicherry.
The house but takes a few steps to walk around but each framed picture and Bharathiar's works in his own handwriting make one stand still, absorbing the contents as we are transcended by the power of his writing.
Another stop is in front of the framed writing of Mahatma Gandhi wishing Subramania Bharathiar in Tamil.
Walking around, it suddenly dawns on us that it was here, in this very place that the poet lived, ate, wrote and went about his daily activities. And he then became a national hero.
Many of his inspiring prose pieces on freedom, equality, untouchability, emancipation of women could have been written under this roof.
He was vehemently against child marriage and untouchability.
"Jathihal illaiyadi pappa, kula thalchi uyarchi solal paavam" goes the song.
Stories for children
Besides these, he wrote stories for children. A little moralistic, they are funny to captivate the child's attention and make him/ her listen to the voice of a master storyteller.
History has it that Bharathiar was struck by an elephant at Parthasarathy Koil, which is a stone's throw away.
This visit makes one realise one's sense of patriotism and values in life, for here lived a man who believed in independence and freedom in every sense and inspired a nation to march forward.
For more details log on to: http://www.answers.com, http://en.wikipedia.org
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