Musings on the Life & Times of Chinnaswamy Subramania Bharathi

Narasimhan Vijayaraghavan 
 51

Musings on the Life & Times of Chinnaswamy Subramania Bharathi

Narasimhan Vijayaraghavan

 51


This ‘muser’ has readily conceded, not out of any pretentious sense of humility, but reality, that he was no scholar. Not even a quarter-baked one. He is an avid reader. A mad and rabid enthusiast of all things Bharathi. And he happens to have the blessings of almighty to write. Just write. Not create. And the daily discipline. These proclivities allied with his willingness to feel inspired to put pen to paper or finger tip to keyboard on his overworked Iphone on an hourly basis have led to these musings.

One never imagined the sort of traction it has gained. One was ready to accept these : very few read in full, even fewer to glance at it and less fewer to even care and more or most to delete the musings as irritable nuisance or a pest like invasion. It is par for the course for the likes of me. But the subject being Bharathi, he has had overpowering impact. There have been multiple responses. Some wondering why they had not known it before. Many happy to become aware at least now. In effect, there have been plenty more responses than one had bargained for. 

Not all need to be shared. But some may be. Need to be. For, they are from more knowledgeable. And they say and state with conviction. It adds to these musings as a source of enhancer and encourager. No one writes to just let go or even get published and not be read. In these days of “Everyone with a smart phone is a writer, a journalist. Each one has something to say. And the social media platforms which abound, provide a ready made Editorial Space’ with no Editor to fret about. Some go viral. Most go missing. Yet, one has a lot more to read and become aware. And some are truly remarkable and worth your notice”, says Tom Friedman the NewYork Times columnist and his friend Dov Seidman acknowledges. The forwarded articles and Podcasts suggest that we have more ‘content creators’ than audience. All for good. Good for all. Or worse? 

Of that genre, this ‘muser’ received a response on 23rd Dec, 2021. It was lovely. The perspective was beautiful. A lot more illuminating . Contextually, while musing on ‘penury and poverty’ of creative artists, it does appear as if they went together. Theories have proliferated. Mr.Srinivas Parthasarathy,? the elderly muse, goes lyrical on the Bharathi variant. It communicates better than I could ever have. What ‘penury and poverty’. Bharathi was rich in affluence and abundance! Read on, you will agree.


Quote from my Musings

”The beauty of his verse lies in the simplicity. There is a hint and a suggestion as if any one of us could author them. Could we? No way.” – How true!

”In the same breath, one is angry, anguished and amazed all at the same time, as to why Lakshmi Kadaksham eluded him. If Saraswathi blessed him with her magnificent munificence, why did Lakshmi lurch him? Or did she? … Why is it that such great creative writers lived in penury and poverty?”

Unquote



“Penury and poverty” are pitiful material terms for those blessed ones, I think. As Vedanta would assert, pleasure does not lie in the objects but in the perceiver’s mind. Let us imagine Bharathi was blessed – By Sri Mahalakshmi – with a palatial home and abundant riches. What would he do with them? One could safely wager: he would let street urchins come in and play ‘chadu gudu’ or ‘kittipullu’ in his spacious living room. he would bathe street dogs in the bath tubs, using the upmarket shampoos. He would open all his windows to let in birds of all feathers and provide a divine concert for him. And, all the grain and groceries would go to feed the hungry in the dalit homes. And, having spent all those, he would ask Chellamma to go and borrow a bushel of grain from the next door neighbour for the next meal! 

Bharathi lived rich in his mind, evidence this classic piece

:

காணி நிலம் வேண்டும் – பராசக்தி
காணி நிலம் வேண்டும், – அங்கு
தூணில் அழகியதாய் – நன்மாடங்கள்
துய்ய நிறத்தினதாய் – அந்தக்
காணி நிலத்தினிடையே – ஓர்மாளிகை
கட்டித் தரவேண்டும் – அங்கு
கேணியருகினிலே – தென்னைமரம்
கீற்று மிளநீரும்.

பத்துப் பன்னிரண்டு – தென்னைமரம்
பக்கத்திலே வேணும் – நல்ல
முத்துச் சுடர்போலே – நிலாவொளி
முன்பு வரவேணும், அங்கு
கத்துங் குயிலோசை – சற்றே வந்து
காதிற் படவேணும், – என்றன்
சித்தம் மகிழ்ந்திடவே – நன்றாயிளந்
தென்றல் வரவேணும்.

பாட்டுக் கலந்திடவே – அங்கேயொரு
பத்தினிப் பெண்வேணும் – எங்கள்
கூட்டுக் களியினிலே – கவிதைகள்
கொண்டுதர வேணும் – அந்தக்
காட்டு வெளியினிலே – அம்மா! நின்றன்
காவலுற வேணும், – காணி நிலம் வேண்டும் – பராசக்தி
காணி நிலம் வேண்டும், – அங்கு
தூணில் அழகியதாய் – நன்மாடங்கள்
துய்ய நிறத்தினதாய் – அந்தக்
காணி நிலத்தினிடையே – ஓர்மாளிகை
கட்டித் தரவேண்டும் – அங்கு
கேணியருகினிலே – தென்னைமரம்
கீற்று மிளநீரும்.

பத்துப் பன்னிரண்டு – தென்னைமரம்
பக்கத்திலே வேணும் – நல்ல
முத்துச் சுடர்போலே – நிலாவொளி
முன்பு வரவேணும், அங்கு
கத்துங் குயிலோசை – சற்றே வந்து
காதிற் படவேணும், – என்றன்
சித்தம் மகிழ்ந்திடவே – நன்றாயிளந்
தென்றல் வரவேணும்.

பாட்டுக் கலந்திடவே – அங்கேயொரு
பத்தினிப் பெண்வேணும் – எங்கள்
கூட்டுக் களியினிலே – கவிதைகள்
கொண்டுதர வேணும் – அந்தக்
காட்டு வெளியினிலே – அம்மா! நின்றன்
காவலுற வேணும், – என்றன்
பாட்டுத் திறத்தாலே – இவ்வையத்தைப்
பாலித்திட வேணும்.


He concludes this poem by seeking an exceptional boon – ‘Let me govern this whole world, with my poetic skills.” What supreme arrogance! 

He did not renounce riches; but riches were perennial in his spatially amazing mind. Looking at it the other way round, material riches did not present to him the same values as they do to ordinary mortals.


Fond wishes,
SrinivasParthasarathy
23rdDec,2021.




I gratefully acknowledge this contribution which I use not misuse. I borrow generously. Never steal. Bharathi’s works were nationalised. No copy right. As a wag said you have a right to copy. If Bharathi’s works have no copy right what pray right do I have, a nincompoop at the poetic level, to claim legitimacy over mine. I claim none. But I do not steal or plagiarise. I borrow with attribution. But not always you may see. More the merrier as it adds to the worth of these musings at the anecdotal plane. 

As if Srinivas Parthasarathy mail was not enough to make your day, one got another from a fellow advocate Mr. K Ravi @ Vanavil K Ravi, a Bharathi officianado of the true kind. He is known. For he knows. And when he sought a Musings’ Chapter on the Chellamma Songs morphing into Kannamma Songs , one felt Wow! Who is asking who for what?

I sent it across and he responded with this : I think you have stated it correctly. Only in respect of 3 songs, Appadurai made the correction. I agree. I will quote you on 25th in the Kolkatta event.”.

This was in the context of my reference: “Interestingly, the three poems – Chellamma Poems- with her name employed , were printed in as is where is form by Bharathi Prasuralayam. As Bharati’s daughters observed, in their works, the name change was probably made by Chellamma’s brother Appathurai Iyer, and must have been approved and published by C. Viswanatha Iyer. On the premise, “Bharathi was too far ahead of his time. And his ideology of women empowerment may not have public approval. And use of his wife’s name would not be received kindly”.



Well Mr. K Ravi affirmed that only ‘three poems’ were part of this Appadurai effect. And not all of Kannamma songs were originally sung as Chellamma songs. And he threatened to quote me and my musings on this aspect in the Kolkata event celebrating Bharathi under the auspices of Bharathi Vidya Bhavan & others in 25th Dec,2021. That is another Wow! But let it be a muted one, for one knows one’s scholarship or lack of it, even if others fail to see.



Excuse me, please note that it was not my discovery or statement. I simply borrowed and quoted what Bharathi’s elder daughter Thangammal had said or suggested. And possibly seconded by the younger daughter Sakuntala also. 

Well the lesson I learnt is that if you know you don’t know, concede.

These Musings get written by itself. You have more and more to read alone. Writing then gets into easedom. Then, borrow without hesitation. From more and better informed, for you are only Musing on the anecdotal or episodal plane. You can trust, if you care and if you happen to like these Musings, warts and all, there would be more of the same. 


(Author is practising advocate in the Madras High Court)

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