Visitors to Setupati Higher Secondary School here were taken back in history on Thursday, the 133rd birth anniversary of national poet Subramania Bharathi. A beautifully decorated bust of the poet welcomed them on the premises .
A framed, faded attendance sheet displayed at the Headmaster’s office is a reminder that Subramania Bharathi served as a Tamil teacher for classes VI, VII and VIII.
Attendance records indicate that a 22-year-old Bharathi was engaged for five hours of teaching on a daily basis, before he hurriedly left the institution to evade an arrest warrant issued against him by the British rulers. “He is still listed in our records as an ‘unauthorised absentee.’ The school has been honouring his memory on his birth and death anniversaries and many come here to pay homage to the poet on these occasions,” said Headmaster S. Balagurunathan.
Correspondent S. Parthasarathy addressed the students. Prizes were distributed to winners of elocution and essay writing contests. Many organisations and associations offered floral tributes to the bust of Bharathi. Members of the Janata Dal (Secular), led by K. John Moses, State general secretary, and Bharathi Desiya Peravai participated in the birth anniversary celebration at the school.
Thyaga Deepam Peravai organised a talk on Bharathi by its president R. Chokkalingam.
