Life History and Literary Works of
Tamil Poet C. Subramania Bharathiyar

Life History and Works of C. Subramania Bharathiyar

PERSONAL:

• Born :11 Dec 1882 in Ettayapuram, Tirunelveli Dt, in Saiva Brahmin family
  
• Parents: Chinnasami Aiyar and Lakshmi Ammal (mother died in 1889)
  
• Personal name: Chinnasami Subramania Aiyar. The title "Bharathi" (tamil bharathi = goddess saraswathi ) conferred to him in 1893 in the Sabha of court-poets in recognition of his poetic talent - later it became his pen-name
  
• 1894-1897: studied in Hindu college, Trinelveli
  
• 15 June 897 married Chellamma, aged 7; 1898 father dies
  
• 1898-1902 stay at Benares with his aunt, learns Sanskrit, Hindi etc, entrance exam to Allahabad Univ
  
• 1902-1904 - court poet at Ettayapuram; Aug-Nov 1904 tamil teacher at Sethupathi High school, Madurai; Nov 1904 on the staff of CudEcamiththiran, well known tamil daily of Madras;
  
• 1905 active political life starts; 1906 contact with Chithambaram Pillai, on the staff of radical daily Inthia; Attends Congress session in Calcutta, meets sister Nivedita
  
• 1907 Editor of Inthiya and Bala Bharatha; meets Tilak, Aurobindo Ghosh, Lajpath Ray,...
  
• Composes patriotic songs publishes his first book "SvathEca keethangkaL" in 1908
  1908 Inthiya newspaper comes under govt surveilance, takes refuge in POndicherry
  
• 1909 2nd volume of poetry -janmmpUmi
  
• 1908-1910 Inthiya paper published from Pondicherry; 1910 Aurobindo and VVS Aiyar come to Pondicheery
  
• 1912-1918 stays in Pondi to avoid arrest by the british, writes political and other essays,...; composes poetry - Kannan pAttu, kuyil pAttu, pAncAli capatham,.... 1917 first editionof KannanpAttu released
• nov. 1918 returns to India, got arrested and released after 34 days
  
• 1918-19 levaes for kilkattiyam and ettayapuram, lives in poverty; 1919 goes to Madras meets Gandhi in Rajaji's house; 1920 joins CuthEcamiththrin in Triplicane
  
• 12.9.1921 dies at the age of 39
  

Literary Works

• thEciya keethangal - 57 poems
  
• thoththirap pAdalkal - devotional songs, 66 pieces
  
• vinayakar nanmanimaalai, kannanpattu -23 pieces
  
• pirapadalkal - 30 pieces
  
• autobiography in verse form:
  svacarithai (49 st.), bharathi arupathu (66 st), cinnacankaran kathai
  
• puthiya aaththiccudi, paappapattu (1914, 16 quatrains)
  
• pancali capatham - narrative poem in 1548 lines
  
• prose - gnana ratham, 1910
  
• short narrative pieces
  aaril oru pangku,1911-12
  

References:

• Bharathi nUlkaL, bharathi piracuraalayam, 6th ed, madras, 1949
  mahakavi bharathiyar kathaikal, thamizhakam, madras 1957
  
• bharathi nUlkals-vacanam , madras govt publication 1959
  
• bharathi nUlkaLs -katturaikals, bhrathi piracuralayam, 1950
  R.A. Padmanabhan, Bharathi puthaiyal, madras, 1959
  
• Bharathi puthaiyal perunthirattu, madrs, 1982
  I maniyan, Bharathi tharicanam, new century book house, madrs, 1977
  Sini Viswanathan, Mahakavi Bharathi Manivachakam, madras, 1984

Translations

• H Jesudasan, The song of the Cuckoo and other poems, trivandurm, 1950
  
• H Valam, Pancali capatham, Devalali, 1957
  
• S. Prema, Bhrathi in english verse, madras, 1958
  
• S. Duraiswamy pillai, Bharathi's poems: kannan and kuyil pattu, madras, 1966
  
• Prema Nandakumar, Poems of Subramania Bharathi, UNESCO-sahitya academy, delih, 1977
  
• Krishna Srinivas, Bharathi -select poems, madras,, 1979
  
• TN Ramachandran, Kannan pattu -original text with eng rendering, tanjore, 1980
  

Webpages of Bharathiyar Songs

• Devotional and Patriotic Songs in tamil script (mylai font based)
  

  ---