ENCORE
Memorial to Bharati
SRIRAM VENKATKRISHNAN
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Messages were received from several prominent personalities including Mahatma Gandhi, who had sent his best wishes in Tamil.
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AT THE INAUGURATION: Rajaji addressing the gathering at the foundation ceremony of the Bharathi Memorial and (below) Gandhiji's letter on the occasion
The Hindu dated June 4, 1945, reported that “thousands of people from various parts of Tamil Nad mustered strong” on the previous day at Ettayapuram. They had all assembled to witness the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Subramania Bharati memorial. Among those present were C. Rajagopalachari, who was to do the honours, the zamindar of Ettayapuram, ‘Rasikamani’ T.K.Chidambaranatha Mudaliar, Dr. TSS Rajan, Dr. P. Subbaroyan and ‘Kalki’ R.Krishnamurthy. Messages were received from several prominent personalities of India including Mahatma Gandhi, who had sent his best wishes in Tamil.
There was excitement in the air as D.K.Pattammal sang the songs of Subramania Bharati prior to the actual ceremony. As her voice soared it marked the victorious end of several years of struggle to ensure a suitable memorial to the national poet.
Stirring writings
When Bharati died in 1921 there were a handful of mourners, but within a few years, his stirring writings had impacted people strongly, perhaps most in the world of performing arts. But the British authorities had noted what they felt was the seditious content of the works and were ever watchful about his songs being performed in public. The world of drama first took to them and soon compilations of his verses were doing the rounds. Burma, which was then a part of the British Empire, banned “Swadesa Gitangal,” a compilation of Bharati’s songs, on August 7, 1928.
The Madras Government followed suit on September 11 the same year. This was despite the fact that a Ministry headed by Dr. P. Subbaroyan was in place in the Presidency. The police confiscated more than 2,000 copies of Bharati’s books. It was left to S.Sathyamurthy, as a member of the Madras Legislative Council to demand that the House revoke the ban. A majority, cutting across party lines voted in favour of Sathyamurthy’s demand. A few, including Dr Subbaroyan, abstained. Meanwhile a case came up in the High Court against the confiscating of Bharati’s books and the judges ruled that the works were not seditious in character.
With the arrival of talking films in 1931, the songs of Bharati featured in movies but without any credits being given to him, such being the fear of the censors.
The first film which used Bharati’s songs was ‘Menaka’ (1935) which starred the TKS Brothers. The producers boldly gave full credit to Bharati in the song book that accompanied the release. But in 1937 when ‘Navayuvan’ came out it used Bharati’s songs without mentioning his name. What is more, the film credited Papanasam Sivan as the composer of the songs! ‘Sati Lilavati’ (1936) went further. It modified a song of Bharati’s! The poet had composed ‘Karumbu Thottathile’ which was on the plight of bonded Indian labourers in Fiji. This was changed to ‘Theyilai Thottatile,’ depicting the problems of the tea plantation workers in Ceylon. The song became a hit and later Musiri Subramania Iyer was to adapt it to the concert platform where it became a bigger hit.
The 1937 elections witnessed hectic campaigning. Bharati’s songs were used in full measure by stars such as K.B.Sundarambal, T.K.Shanmugam, M.S.Vijayal and others. By then, the Tamil Song Movement was in full swing in the Carnatic music world and several including GNB, Madurai Mani Iyer, M.S.Subbulakshmi and Pattammal had discovered the beauty of Bharati’s songs and were singing it on the concert platform.
Act of expiation
There was the odd controversy however. Writing at around this time, ‘Kalki’ Krishnamurthy had, for reasons best known to himself, compared Tagore to Bharati to the former’s advantage and had declared that Bharati could not be compared to him.This resulted in enormous protests and bitter debates. In many ways, the effort that Kalki took to make the Bharati memorial a reality was an act of expiation.
On June 3, 1945, however, all that was forgotten. Regretfully Sathyamurthy was not alive to witness the spectacle. Dr. Subbaroyan praised Bharati for campaigning against caste in his songs. K.S.Jayarama Iyer, eminent lawyer and patron of arts, wrote a long article in The Hindu of that date titled “Bharati — The Tamil Poet.” It compared Bharati’s songs on Kannan to Divyaprabhandam verses.
A. Vaidyanatha Iyer, a one-time student of Bharati’s, noted that it was on hearing a song of the poet’s that he had joined the national movement. Rajaji said that “the biggest memorial that could be built was to make everyone sing his songs.” The lady who sang the prayer was to make it a reality. Within two years, the film ‘Naam Iruvar’ would be made and the songs of Bharati that she sang in it would be heard in every home.
(The author can be contacted at srirambts@gmail.com)
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