A Tamil writer and rationalist popularly known as Bharathidasan breathed his last on this day in 1964. April 21 marks the death anniversary of the prolific writer who posthumously received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his book Sirpiyum Sattruvarum.
On Bharathidasan's death anniversary, here are some facts about him that you must know.
What is the real name of Bharathidasan? The prior is the name he is known by far and wide, but his original name happens to be Kanaka Subburathinam.
He was born on January 14, 1931, in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
With over 200 works of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction in Tamil, he greatly contributed to Tamil literature during his life.
His collections of poetry are titled “Nenjukku Needhi,” “Udalin Mozhi,” and “Sirpiyum Sattruvarum.”
Apart from penning down his thoughts, he also participated in the Indian Independence Movement and entered politics post India became free.
When his writings came under the scanner of the then-French government, he was sentenced and imprisoned for speaking against the government that ruled Pondicherry.
Bharathidasan met Subramaniya Bharathiyar in 1909, and his interactions with the Mahakavi had a profound effect on him.
Bharathidasan was conferred with the title of "Puratchi Kavingyar" (meaning the "Revolutionary Poet") by Periyar.
The death of Subburathinam occurred on September 18, 2016, at the age of 85 in a hospital in Madras (now Chennai).
The government of Puducherry has adopted Bharathidasan’s song of invocation to Goddess Tamil as the anthem of the union territory.
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