One hundred and thirty years of Mahakavi
Posted on: 11/Dec/2012 11:25:10 AM
He a poet who transformed the genre, he was the first Tamil cartoonist, among the earliest short story writers in the language and an excellent journalist, who wrote for The Hindu and Swadesamitran simultaneously.
Mahakavi Subramani ya Barathi is a phenomenon. To commemorate his 130th birth anniversary, we spoke with three persons who have, in distinct ways, carried on his legacy. Like all poets after Bharathi, lyricist Vairamuthu has been influenced by his verses, often adopting his persona in person and on paper. Filmmaker K. Balachander drew deeply from Bharathi’s social consciousness. His films, many of them trendsetters, explored themes of societal change and empowerment of women. For Rajkumar Bharathi, the poet’s great-grandson, the legacy was more of a challenge. He embraced and transcended it by giving ardent devotees of Bharathi something priceless – songs, in tunes the poet had composed.
K.Balachander himself said that The history of Tamils can be split into ‘before Bharathi’ and ‘after Bharathi’. Such is the impact of that poet. Bharathi is my superhero. As a boy, I was awestruck by his patriotism, devotion, active social awareness.
