26- iRudi
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https://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=204744#p204744
by arasi »
TWENTY SIX
iRudi
(The End)
In roudra varusham, in the month of Chittirai, my father, Iyer and others returned home. After the end of the war, they were free to come home. My father stayed on until Iyer was free to come to British India. But for Aravindar, the rest of them had left Puduvai.
Soon after, the Puduvai mUvar (Bharathi, Iyer and my father) started living in the same place again--Chennai. Bharathi worked at svadESa Mitran and Iyer at dESa Bhaktan. My father went back to his old business.
At the end of the month of aippasi, I had gone to Chennai from Mysore. Chellamma and Bhagyalakshmi Ammal came to see me. The Iyers lived in George Town then, I think. Bharathi and Chellamma lived in TiruvallikkENi in TuLasingap perumAL Koil street. We lived in PEyAzhvAr kOil street, facing the mantapam in front of Parthasarathy Swamy temple.
Bharathiyar was home only from seven to nine in the morning. Then, he left for work. He came home during the break, occasionally.
Hindi prachAr (propogation of Hindi) had started just then. Devadas Gandhi taught Hindi and national songs in our upstairs hall.
When seeing little babies saying 'Ao, Ao, Ao', BharathiAr had a habit of singing to them, 'AO sakala bhArath kumAr!' (Come, little son of all India!). "The little ones are saying, 'come, let's all be one!', but we foolish adults don't pay any attention to it!"
The political scene then was tense. The Ali bothers, on their way to Chennai were arrested. Their mother was a brave woman. She spoke at the beach meeting. At the end of it when people were starting to disperse, Bharathi got on stage and sang 'jaya bErigai koTTaDA, koTTaDA!' and the crowds came back in throngs. They loved to hear Bharathi's songs and his speeches. His voice and his verses charmed them all. That day, he sang the verses, interspersing them with the sounds of the drums (bERigai ), with his own voice!
*
When I was in Chennai, Bharathi overheard my saying, "Both children that I have are daughters and the one son I had, is no more". He chided me. "Daughters are more affectionate than sons, Yadugiri. You were a little child when you were in Puduvai. You still are the same in your affection for me. Your brother Sami is too occupied with family affairs. He does not find time to come and see me, as you still do".
I was in Chennai until ugAdi. Bharathi came to our house almost every day. Chellamma, Thangamma and Sakunthala came to see us often.
On the day I left for Bangalore that month, Bharathi came by in the morning. "Chellamma said it was an inappropriate day for a shave. So, I came to your house," he said and got shaven in the front of our house .
Bharathi came again that evening. I did namaskArams to him and asked him when he would come to visit us in Bangalore.
Bharathi: What business do I have in Bangalore, Amma? Have a good journey and be well. The next time you come to Chennai, I don't know where I'm going to be. That was why I came to see you again.
That was the last time I saw him.
I was in Mysore. My mother wrote to me that Bharathiar was no more. I could not believe it. Soon, my father wrote a long letter, giving me all the details.
It was the misfortune of tamizh nADu that Bharathi died, and that too, in his prime.
*
In 1923, I was back in Chennai. Chellamma, Thangamma and Sakunthala came to see me. It was a sad moment.
Chellamma: He asked about you even on the day that he passed away. "Where is Yadugiri now? How many children has she?". "Two girls, like us," I answered.
"I don't know when she will come to Chennai. I miss seeing her. Wherever she is, let her be happy," he said. "Chellamma, finish cooking by eight in the morning. I have to go to the office early," he said. He died soon after. What could I do? It all seems like a play, this life of ours!"
*
After so many years of our struggle for freedom, we are now free--because of great patriots like Tillakar, Bharathi, Chidambaram Pillai and V.V.S. Iyer. They laid the foundation for the freedom which we enjoy.
Bharathi was inspired by some unknown force. When he sang, poetry flooded out of him .There were times when he was surprised with some of his own lines of poetry. He didn't go in search of words, style, grammar or rhyme. He was a vara kavi (born with a boon-poet).
Bharathi had the habit of asking himself questions. I used to be surprised by this."Whom did you speak to at the beach?"--I'd ask. He would laugh and say, 'with parAsakti, with the sea!" I did not know the impact of it then. I realize now that to be a great poet, to develop one's sensibilities to that extent, one should do penance of a very high order. Bharathi was a living example of such a poet. Poets like him are born only once in a few centuries. Lucky indeed are the nations which produce such great souls!
THE END
* * *
iRudi
(The End)
In roudra varusham, in the month of Chittirai, my father, Iyer and others returned home. After the end of the war, they were free to come home. My father stayed on until Iyer was free to come to British India. But for Aravindar, the rest of them had left Puduvai.
Soon after, the Puduvai mUvar (Bharathi, Iyer and my father) started living in the same place again--Chennai. Bharathi worked at svadESa Mitran and Iyer at dESa Bhaktan. My father went back to his old business.
At the end of the month of aippasi, I had gone to Chennai from Mysore. Chellamma and Bhagyalakshmi Ammal came to see me. The Iyers lived in George Town then, I think. Bharathi and Chellamma lived in TiruvallikkENi in TuLasingap perumAL Koil street. We lived in PEyAzhvAr kOil street, facing the mantapam in front of Parthasarathy Swamy temple.
Bharathiyar was home only from seven to nine in the morning. Then, he left for work. He came home during the break, occasionally.
Hindi prachAr (propogation of Hindi) had started just then. Devadas Gandhi taught Hindi and national songs in our upstairs hall.
When seeing little babies saying 'Ao, Ao, Ao', BharathiAr had a habit of singing to them, 'AO sakala bhArath kumAr!' (Come, little son of all India!). "The little ones are saying, 'come, let's all be one!', but we foolish adults don't pay any attention to it!"
The political scene then was tense. The Ali bothers, on their way to Chennai were arrested. Their mother was a brave woman. She spoke at the beach meeting. At the end of it when people were starting to disperse, Bharathi got on stage and sang 'jaya bErigai koTTaDA, koTTaDA!' and the crowds came back in throngs. They loved to hear Bharathi's songs and his speeches. His voice and his verses charmed them all. That day, he sang the verses, interspersing them with the sounds of the drums (bERigai ), with his own voice!
*
When I was in Chennai, Bharathi overheard my saying, "Both children that I have are daughters and the one son I had, is no more". He chided me. "Daughters are more affectionate than sons, Yadugiri. You were a little child when you were in Puduvai. You still are the same in your affection for me. Your brother Sami is too occupied with family affairs. He does not find time to come and see me, as you still do".
I was in Chennai until ugAdi. Bharathi came to our house almost every day. Chellamma, Thangamma and Sakunthala came to see us often.
On the day I left for Bangalore that month, Bharathi came by in the morning. "Chellamma said it was an inappropriate day for a shave. So, I came to your house," he said and got shaven in the front of our house .
Bharathi came again that evening. I did namaskArams to him and asked him when he would come to visit us in Bangalore.
Bharathi: What business do I have in Bangalore, Amma? Have a good journey and be well. The next time you come to Chennai, I don't know where I'm going to be. That was why I came to see you again.
That was the last time I saw him.
I was in Mysore. My mother wrote to me that Bharathiar was no more. I could not believe it. Soon, my father wrote a long letter, giving me all the details.
It was the misfortune of tamizh nADu that Bharathi died, and that too, in his prime.
*
In 1923, I was back in Chennai. Chellamma, Thangamma and Sakunthala came to see me. It was a sad moment.
Chellamma: He asked about you even on the day that he passed away. "Where is Yadugiri now? How many children has she?". "Two girls, like us," I answered.
"I don't know when she will come to Chennai. I miss seeing her. Wherever she is, let her be happy," he said. "Chellamma, finish cooking by eight in the morning. I have to go to the office early," he said. He died soon after. What could I do? It all seems like a play, this life of ours!"
*
After so many years of our struggle for freedom, we are now free--because of great patriots like Tillakar, Bharathi, Chidambaram Pillai and V.V.S. Iyer. They laid the foundation for the freedom which we enjoy.
Bharathi was inspired by some unknown force. When he sang, poetry flooded out of him .There were times when he was surprised with some of his own lines of poetry. He didn't go in search of words, style, grammar or rhyme. He was a vara kavi (born with a boon-poet).
Bharathi had the habit of asking himself questions. I used to be surprised by this."Whom did you speak to at the beach?"--I'd ask. He would laugh and say, 'with parAsakti, with the sea!" I did not know the impact of it then. I realize now that to be a great poet, to develop one's sensibilities to that extent, one should do penance of a very high order. Bharathi was a living example of such a poet. Poets like him are born only once in a few centuries. Lucky indeed are the nations which produce such great souls!
THE END
* * *
end-note by 'arasi' (translator) follows at
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