Senthmizh Naadenum Pothiniley Inbathen Vanthu Payuthu Kaathinile , is among the most famous songs of Tamil nationalist poet Subramania Bharathi. Few in Tamil Nadu will fail to recognise the song, or not be carried away by its tune. Yet, can you believe that when the poem was submitted for a competition organised by a city-based association in the early 1900s, it secured only the third place?
“The prize money was Rs. 100. V.V.S. Iyer was upset with the decision of the association. But, Bharathi did not take it seriously. He consoled us by saying that the association might have decided the winner in advance,” reminisced Yathugiri Ammal, the daughter of Mandayam Srinivasachariyar, who ran the India weekly.
Bharathi was the magazine’s editor and the families of the poet, Srinivasachariyar and V.V.S. Iyer, had moved to Puducherry to escape persecution by the British government in Madras. At that time, the young poet was in dire straits and had agreed to participate in the competition after being persuaded by Yathugiri Ammal and others.
Her book Bharathi Ninaivugal , covering the period between 1912 and 1918, gives rare insights into the poetic mind of Bharathi, his ability to compose poems set to Carnatic tunes that flew spontaneously from his mind and his extraordinary concern for fellow human beings.
Noted Bharathi scholar late R.A. Padmanabhan, in the preface to the memoir, which was first published in 1954, regretted that the book could not see the light of the day when the author was alive.
The families of Bharathi and Yadhugiri Ammal returned to Chennai after a few years in French-ruled Puducherry. While Bharathi’s family lived in Thulasinga Perumal Street in Triplicane, Yathugiri Ammal’s family moved to a house at Peyazhwar Street.
While in Puducherry, Yathugiri Ammal, a child, used to accompany Bharathi and his daughters to the beach and on one occasion, he shocked everyone with his gesture towards a snake-charmer who was clad in only a loincloth. Without a second thought, Bharathi removed his dhoti and gave it to the poor man after covering his body with the shawl on his shoulder. The poet had also chided Yadhugiri Ammal for dropping a coin in the sea as a ritual, instead of giving it to the snake-charmer.
