Translation
Title: His poems inspire patriotism across generations
Subheading: Sri Subrahmanya Bharati strove day and night to instill patriotism in fellow citizens. It was ironical that towards the end he could not even feed his own wife and children. When his second daughter was struggling between life and death, he could not pay the doctor's fees, and spent the entire night chanting, "Om Shakti Om Shakti".The author is Dr Bapu Krishnamurthy, a senior journalist.
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The Congress conference happened in Dec. 1906 in Calcutta. Prior to that, Swami Vivekananda, Bipin Chandra Pal, and other monks of Ramakrishna Order had stirred up the spirit of Swadeshi, Swaraj, and Swadharma, in Madras Presidency. As a result, to take part in the Congress conference, a big group of hot-blooded youth from Madras had arrived. Among them, a 24 year old young man moved about mercurially, all over the meeting, discussing with the leading lights the idea of swadeshi (self-rule). But he had an important agenda, too. To go meet an eminent lady on Bose Para Lane.
When he entered her residence, he saw her sitting at her desk, writing something. He was surprised. What a radiant figure! Emotionally, he prostrated on the floor, with teary eyes. He was trembling as he stood by her side, with folded hands. He was speechless. She herself looked at him with a smile. "From where have you come, child?"
"I have come from Madras. My name is Subrahmanya Bharati. Till now, I worked for a Tamil magazine, Swadesha Mitran. The owners couldn't brook my pungent writings against the British. They asked me to tone it down. Therefore I quit. Now Mandyam Tirumalachari and Mandyam Srinivasachari, two gentlemen, have started for my sake a magazine called India. Swami Vivekananda is my God. Therefore I have used his famous words, "Uttishthata, Jagrata, Prapyavarannibodhata" as our motto in the India magazine. "
That divine lady was intently watching him and listening to his words." Child, what a radiance fills your eyes! Goddess Shakti has blessed you fully. You shall have a major role in India's struggle for freedom". The young man was thrilled, and shed tears.
That divine lady was Sister Nivedita. That youth of great emotional sensibility was the Tamil Maha Kavi, Patriot, one of the Tamil Trinity of Freedom Struggle, Subrahmanya Bharati!
"Child, keep your mind unfettered at all times. Abandon uncivilised divisive ideas of party, regionalism, and caste, and serve the country. Install on the throne of your heart the high ideal of patriotism, love of your land. Then your name will be etched in golden letters on the pages of history", said Nivedita.
"Bharati, are you married?"
"Yes, and I have a daughter, too". "Then why didn't you bring your wife to the Congress conference?" "Our custom does not permit taking women to public places, madam". There was anger in Sister Nivedita's response. "How can society's one half keep the other half in chains and hope to achieve freedom? Don't keep you wife confined to a corner. She is your ardhangi (other half). Worship her like a goddess. Is your land not the blessed soil on which they worshipped women as goddesses?"
When Bharati was taking his leave, Nivedita took out an old dry leaf from her bag. She said, "This leaf is from the Himalayas, I gathered during my travels. Keep this as a memento from me. Don't lose it".
Bharati preserved that leaf as a priceless treasure all his life. Whenever he looked at that leaf, he would connect with that divine lady of his inspiration, and would be rejuvenated in his endeavours.Talent blossomed early:
Ettayapuram in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu was his birthplace. The region was under a zamindar. Chinnaswamy Iyer, a smarta brahmana was the father. Mother's name was Lakshmi. Their son was Subrahmanya Iyer. He was called by everyone Subbiah. He was born on December 11,1882.
Virtually a king in that small region, the Ettayapuram zamindar Raja Jagavira Rama Ettappa Nayackar was looked upon with respect by the people. He was a man of culture and loved literature. The 15 year old Subbiah was much loved by him. One day there was a meeting of literateurs in the Raja's assembly. The wise men were discussing at length the subject of the education system. The boy Subbiah who entered in the middle spoke extempore on the education system with great lucidity. His speech mesmerised the assembly. A senior scholar exclaimed, "Child, Goddess Saraswati dwells on your tongue! You are indeed "Bharati", boy! " And blessed him heartily.
*(The word Bharati in Hinduism denotes Saraswati as well as people endowed with great learning). From that day, Subbiah became Subrahmanya Bharatiyar.
Subrahmanya Bharati's entry into journalism was through the Congress functionary and moderate Subrahmani Iyer's Swadesha Mitran journal. Lacking neither ideas nor passionate feelings, Bharati employed his pen as a destructive weapon against all adversaries. That was the period of the historic Bengal Partition. The national political scenario changed forever.
As he was covering the Congress conferences, Bharati developed deep expertise in the area of national politics and its goings-on. His thinking gained crystallisation. In 1905, when Gokhale presented the approach of moderates in the Varanasi Congress convention, it irked Bharati no end. A worshipper of Shakti, he was greatly opposed to the pacific moderates. In 1907, he participated actively in the Congress convention in Surat along with V O Chidambaram Pillai and sided with Tilak in the exchanges.
When a Poet Laureate ignited Patriotic Fervour:
A serendipitous turn came that transformed the journalist Bharati into a Tamil Maha Kavi. He thought there should be a book of poems that stirred patriotic fervour. An invitation went out to writers to send in poems to Swadesha Mitran. Unfortunately, not a single entry was received. He was deeply disappointed. In those days, singing and writing such poems of patriotism was sacrilege. Had not the British banned "Vande Mataram" ?
In this state of affairs, Bharati decided to launch his own book of poems, that would whip up patriotism and set ablaze nationalistic fervour. But who would publish such a book?
A young publisher, Natesan, suggested that a senior congressman, V. Krishnaswamy Iyer, might offer financial help. But Bharati was deeply sceptical, as he had demolished that man in his writings. However, on Natesan's insistence, he went to Iyer's residence and recited with his customary passion the poem, "Vande Mataram". Iyer, who was greatly opposed to Bharati and his writings, was surprisingly stirred and inspired. He readily agreed to sponsor the book and gave the required funds.
Thus his book of poetry, "Janma Bhoomi" was published in 1909. Each poem in that anthology started dancing on everyone's tongue. Meanwhile, his poems spread like wild fire and instilled strongly in people across Tamil Nadu feelings of national fervour, the idea of freedom, awareness about one's bounden duty, democratic values. Thus they touched everyone's heart transformationally, stirring them to active participation in the freedom struggle. There would be no meeting, march, or agitation, without the singing of his poems. These Indian nationalist poems set fire to the Imperial seat of power.
The government decided to arrest him and the news reached him through his friends. They ensured he moved to Pondicherry, a French colony, in 1908. Hiding the pen- Incognito:
Following him, the Mandyam brothers' printing press went to Pondicherry and so did the magazine India. Bharati's writings resumed with heightened vigour. The "Company" government relentlessly pursued like a ghost, deploying spies there and tried to arrest him. India magazine folded up. The rain of fire filled with Mahakavi's writings ceased.
Bharati was despondent. By mid 1910, he reached a point when he could not provide even a single meal per day to his wife and children. Reading his diaries of around 1915, and the stories therein of his terrible poverty, is heart-rending. When his second daughter contracted illness and lay battling between life and death, Bharati was unable to afford the doctor's fees and spent the entire night chanting, "Om Shakti Om Shakti".
In this desperate condition he wished to move back to Madras. But the police arrest warrant was still out for him. Somehow he gathered courage, left the haven of the French colony, and entered India through Cuddalore. The police arrested him and put him in the Cuddalore sub-jail. Swadesha Mitran magazine's A. Ramaswamy Iyengar contacted the Police General in Madras and worked out a compromise for his release.
In 1920, Bharati rejoined Swadesha Mitran at Ramaswamy Iyengar's invitation and saw a somewhat better life.
Then he lived in Triplicane, near Parthasarathy temple. One evening, he went to the temple. He took coconut, jaggery and plantains in his hands and went to feed the elephant. Perhaps provoked by someone, the elephant got into a rage and smashed him with its trunk. Bharati fell at the animal's feet. Just as the elephant was about to trample him, his close disciple Kuvalaya Kannan, who was with him, rushed forward and pulled away the guru who was unconscious and carried him home.
Bharati recovered somewhat and started going to Swadesha Mitran office to write, again. Maybe because of the elephant's blow he had suffered, he fell ill soon. He became semi-conscious. He made his final journey in peace in the predawn hours of 12th September, 1921.
Only twenty percent of his poems are patriotic songs. But till today, he is known as Desha Bhakti Kavi. Just see this sample stanza:
Vande Mataram!
Be it that victory comes,
Be it that death and defeat come,
We shall all stand as one,
And proclaim
Vande Mataram!
Vande Mataram
-Vijayavani Kannada Newspaper 15.2.2018 by Dr Bapu Krishnamurthy
