Today is Bharathiyar’s birthday. 142 years have passed, and nobody even comes close to his poetic prowess. A selfless patriot and a peerless poet, his Dharmic poems rouse nationalism, bhakti, and courage in everyone.
Here are 4 locations tied to Bharathiyar’s life you can visit today to pay your respects!
Puducherry
Puducherry folks can visit this Mahakavi memorial house. Entry is free. He lived here for 10 years from 1908 to 18 and composed immortal poetry, Kannan Paatu and Kuyil Paatu.
In 2022, only 500 people per month (~ 16 a day) visited here.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/H7G8hAtsKaUNZJGv9
Chennai
Chennaiites can visit Mahakavi’s memorial house in Triplicane. He spent the latter portion of his life here. The house he lived in is now a museum displaying original manuscripts.
Touching a pillar that Bharathi touched would make patriots of us all.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/4q9spSCVa6xFYnGf8
Ettayapuram
Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, and Madurai folks could travel 90 minutes to reach Ettayapuram, the birthplace of the greatest modern-day Tamil poet.
The house where Bharathi was born is now a government museum—the genesis of a brave, selfless Mahakavi.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/EsEFDE8xaSioomEA7
Kashi
Kashi is where a young Bharathi learned Sanskrit, Hindi, English, and also our Vedas. He changed his outward appearance – he grew a beard and wore a turban.
Kashi transformed Subramaniyan into Bharathi! The house he stayed in is still there at Kashi.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/xDuuq4zKerAdz8PEA
If you are unable to travel, no worries. Wherever you are, read a few lines of Bharathi. Wherever his fiery verses are being read, his presence can be felt.
If we forget Bharathi, we are forgetting a civilizational memory. Bharathi was Parashakthi’s own son, a great soul. Even though Bharathi uses fairly simple Tamil words, they can be slightly hard for the 21st-century reader to understand.
Poet Padmadevan has given complete meaning to all his poems. An 1100-page hardcover that’s worth its weight in gold – link here.
(This article based on the X thread by Tamil Labs 2.0)
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