An intense Bharati comes alive in a 98-year-old photo

The studio image, which the patriot-poet liked, was released at The Hindu Lit for Life fest

The new photograph of Subramania Bharati was discovered by Prof. Y. Manikandan.

Mahakavi Subramania Bharati, with his turbaned visage and intense gaze, has come alive in a little-known recently discovered photograph, making it one of six available images of the patriot-poet.

The photograph, discovered in New Delhi by Y. Manikandan, Professor at the Department of Tamil language of Madras University, was released at The Hindu Lit For Life fest on Monday.

It was taken at the Ratna Company, a photo studio situated in Chennai’s Broadway, apparently to promote English lectures on “The Cult of the Eternal — Being a scientific exposition of the art of conquering death” by Bharatiyar at the Victoria Public Hall on March 2, 1919.

The advertisement for the lectures was published in Annie Besant’s

New India in the first week of March, and the meeting was presided over by Justice S. Subramania Iyer. Admission was priced, with tickets costing a rupee.

Meeting with Mahatma Gandhi

Speaking at The Hindu Lit For Life fest event, Mr. Manikandan said Bharati met Mahatma Gandhi at the residence of Kasturi Ranga Iyengar, Editor of

The Hindu, on Cathedral Road in March 1919.

Also, Rajaji, who came to Chennai from Salem at Kasturi Ranga Iyengar’s invitation, was residing at the same house. Gandhiji stayed in the city between March 19 and 23 and there is a record of the meetings he attended.

“So Bharati would have met him on March 21,” said Mr. Manikandan at an interaction with Professor A.R. Venkatachalapathy of the Madras Institute of Development Studiesthe (MIDS) and writer Pazha Adhiyaman.

“Bharati is said to have liked the photograph very much. But scholar R.A. Padmanabhan had expressed disappointment that he could not trace it,” Mr. Venkatachalapathy said.

Bharati's lectures were published in full in New India and The Hindu .

Rajaji, who was present during Bharati’s meeting with Gandhiji, is said to have described the poet’s appearance as similar to ‘a pithha sanyasi [a mad sanyasi].’

“Bharati sported a turban and beard and closely resembled the man in his Puducherry days,” said Mr. Venkatachalapathy.

Photo with family

Two photographs of Bharati were taken in 1917 and the session was arranged by his friend from Puducherry, Vijayaragavachariyar. Besides Bharati, his wife Chellammal, daughters Thangammal and Sakunthala and Vijayaragavachariyar are seen in the picture.

Bharati agreed to pose for a photograph along with the members of the Karaikudi Hindu Madhabimana Sangam.

Another picture was taken at poet Bharathidasan’s request. He had enquired about Bharatiyar’s health after the latter was attacked by an elephant at the Triplicane Parthasarasthy temple.

A photograph taken when Bharati was 26 remains elusive.

Mr. Manikandan said Irish writer James H. Cousin met Bharati in Puducherry and described him as one of India’s four important poets — besides Tagore, Sarojini Naidu and Sri Aurobindo.