06/04/2008 Snipped from http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/06/stories/2008040655500800.htm C. Subramania Bharati (1882 - 1921) is indisputably the greatest of modern Tamil poets. He was a precocious child, and his prodigious talent at verse earned him the title of Bharati even as a boy. The Swadeshi movement, which gathered momentum following the Partition of Bengal, drew Bharati deeper into nationalist politics. He attended the Calcutta Congress in 1906, where he met Sister Nivedita to whom he dedicated two early works in Tamil. Bharati edited the nationalist Tamil weekly, India, which articulated the militant Indian nationalism of Bal Gangadhar Tilak. He shared with The Hindu's second founder, S. Kasturiranga Iyengar, who took over the newspaper in 1905, a deep admiration for the politics, sacrifices, and heroism of Tilak. The revolutionary poet had a flair for languages. He was proficient in Sanskrit, Telugu, English, and French. He wrote with felicity in English. On December 27, 1904, The Hindu published a letter, "Mr. Sankaran Nair's Pronouncement," by C. Subramania Bharati in the 'Letters to the Editor' section. At the age of 22, he wrote his very first piece in English to appear in print. Research into the microfilms of The Hindu by A.R. Venkatachalapathy, Professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai, has brought to light Bharati's Letters to the Editor. (See the report 'Early views of nationalist-poet Subramania Bharati' in The Hindu of March 30, 2008.) These 16 letters, two 'open letters,' and two articles are unknown even to Bharati scholars. The letters and articles were written between 1904 and 1916. The writings have a remarkable range and a distinctive voice. They present the poet's views on social reform; his admiration for Tilak; his criticism of Annie Besant and the Theosophical Society; his defence of Aurobindo; being hounded by spies and informers when he was in exile in French-ruled Pondicherry; his admiration for Serbian patriotism; and the wretched condition of indentured Indian labourers in South Africa. [snip] ============== ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India