Speaking with former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi at The Hindu Lit for Life 2019 on January 13, historian and author of Who Owns that Song? The Battle for Subramania Bharati’s Copyright A.R. Venkatachalapathy said the poet Subramania Bharati was a unique personality in the entire literary history of the world. Listen in on the entire conversation through the above podcast .
Quotable quotes
“Bharati’s writings, where the copyright was acquired by the government, were put in public domain because there was a popular public pressure. His writings cannot be a private property. It is the legacy and wealth of the entire society. Historians are like mountaineers. I had to introduce Bharati, I tried to weave the story and give life to it.”
“Not everybody in India knows Bharati. But the loss is not to Bharati, it is to us.”
“Periyar's position on gender has been mentioned by Prof. Venkatachalapathy in the book. Periyar’s position on women: ‘Why is the woman subjugated? I yield to none. I respect Valluvar, I admire Kural, but Valluvar’s depiction of the housewife, I do not endorse,’ says Periyar. You can admire, not iconise.”
