Pondicherry is a city of rich history. Bharathiar is one of them who makes it all the more interesting.
He moved to Pondicherry in the year 1908 to escape his arrest. He took a house in Pondicherry which has been turned into The Bharathiar Museum now. I visited this museum last Sunday.
What an experience it has been!! Feels like I have been transported to a new land with new thoughts.
The house address is: No. 20, Easwaran Koil Street, Puducherry – 3
I could not believe that this museum is like a 15 minute walk from my house. I imagined Bharathiar walking on the same streets as I was. I wish I could know his thoughts when he was walking in the city.
The museum has a collection of his letters, family photographs and lot of books. I felt the museum could have been much better. Perhaps a guide who could explain things to us.
The sad part is the museum does not sell any items like his books or memoirs. I was really disappointed with that. They do have a great library which is open on Sundays from 10:00am to 5:00pm. The museum is closed on Mondays. The timings for the other days are 10:00am to 1:00pm and 2:00pm to 5:00pm.
I read some of his letters and observed two things:
1. He starts off a letter with the words “Om Shakthi“
2. He usually signed off the letter saying “May you gain immortality“
There was a postage stamp released on Barathiar which is framed in the museum.
There are around 20 photographs collected of his family, friends and relatives. Some names that I can recollect are his wife Chellama, two daughters (one is Thangamma, I can’t recollect the name of the other), V.V.S Iyer, Sri Aurobindo and many others.
While in Pondicherry he was involved with the following journals/magazines: India, Vijaya, Chakravarthini etc.
I especiall liked the front cover of the magazine Chakravarthini (the 1906 edition was displayed) which reads “A Tamil Monthly Devoted mainly to the Elevation of India Ladies” — I felt wow!!
The topics for that edition were interesting as well:
1. Women in Buddhism
2. Figures regarding female education in the Madras Presidency
3. Tulsi Rai
4. Infant marriage and female education
I think we indeed have come a long way since 1906.
When I stood inside the house and looked up to the sky, a tear dropped down my cheeks for no reason. A house where Bharathiar had spent his time. The front hall with an open roof. Wonder how many thoughts he must have had sitting there? It felt very nice. It was mentioned that he composed the poem “Crows and Birds are our clan” in this house.
Bharathiar was an expert in many languages: Tamil, Sanskrit, English, Telugu and French. They had mentioned that he wrote very beautifully in English.
I also found the Tamil version of the phrase “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity” – “Swathanthiram, Sammathuvam, Sahotharathuvam“
I was reading a book there where it mentioned when Bharathiar, V.V.S Iyer and Sri Aurobindo used to talk and discuss it was a conversation filled with great patriotism, energy and out of the world. It is unfortunate that nobody could record these conversations.
I would like to end my visit with a paragraph from the book written by Dr. S. Ramakrishnan on Bharathiar which I truly agree and felt after the visit to his home:
Many of Bharathi’s lyrics are chicks of fire. They burn up the whole jungle of our vices – our apathy, our fear, our pettiness, our casteism, our religious sectarianism, our greed and all that.
Thus, purged of our ills, we become pure-hearted and fearless and consequently strong, nay, invincible
2 Comments
June 29, 2009 at 2:25 pm
I appreciate your thoughts on Mahakavi. It is a pleasure to note that someone remembers him with so much of emotions!
October 25, 2009 at 5:03 am
Your Love For the Mahakavi Is Immense!=)
By the way..Bharathi’s Second daughter is Shakunthala.