Subramania Bharati fired the imagination of Tamil speaking people like never before with his poetry and writing.He was a man far ahead of his times with modern approach to social issues right from cast to feminism and was famous as "Mahakavi Bharati".

His Early Years:

He was born in  Ettayapuram of Tirunelveli district (present day Thoothukudi) on 11 December 1882 as Subbaiah to Chinnaswami Subramania Iyer and Lakhsmi Ammal. He was educated at Tirunelveli and Varanasi. He learnt music by the age of eleven, and also learnt poetry, as such he was conferred the title of "Bharati". He started his career as a journalist with newspapers, mainly Swadesamitran and India. Remarkably, Bharati learnt 32 languages, including 29 Indian languages and 3 foreign languages. Subramanya Bharathi was married to Chellamma.

Freedom Struggle:

Subramania Bharati was also a member of the Indian National Congress. In 1908, government of British India issued arrest warrant against him owing to his nationalist activities. Due to this, he moved to Puducherry, and lived there until 1918. He was sent to prison by the British Government on many occasions.

Writings:

Mahakavi Bharati  was a path breaker in modern Tamil poetry. He is regarded as one of the greatest Tamil literary luminary of all times.His various works included fiery songs which kindled patriotic fervor as well as nationalism in Indian Independence movement.

Bharati's covered various themes including political, social and religious aspects. His songs are used in Tamil films and music concerts even to this day, such is his timeless popularity.

His poetry depicted a progressive, and reformist ideal. He used powerful imagery  in his verse which was followed by modern Tamil poetry. He created thousands of verses on different topics including songs of nature, Indian Nationalism, glory of the Tamil language, tributes to prominent freedom fighters of India like Tilak, Lajpat Rai and Mahatma Gandhi, children's songs and even love songs.                     

Last Days of Mahakavi Bharati:

Bharati’s health was affected by the imprisonments at various times in the course of freedom struggle. Further, at Parthasarathy temple in Triplicane, Chennai, Bharati was struck by an elephant named Lavanya, which he fed as a routine.Even after surviving this incident, Bharati’s health worsened. He breathed his last on 12 September 1921.

Mahakavi Bharati’s Legacy:

To honour Mahakavi Bharati, his statue has been installed in Indian Parliament. In 1982, a state university named Bharathiar University, was established at Coimbatore.  In 1987, the Government of India instituted the highest National Subramanyam Bharti Award. It is annually conferred on outstanding writers in Hindi literature. Several roads have been named after him, including Subramania Bharti Marg in New Delhi and Bharathiar road in Coimbatore.

In the year 2000, a Tamil Movie titled ‘Bharati’ was made on Mahakavi Bharati’s life by Gnana Rajasekeran. The film won National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil.

No words are enough to describe an icon like Mahakavi Bharati. This is but a small introduction to make the non-Tamil readers aware that such a mega personality existed which has left an indelible mark on not only Tamil, but also on Indian literature.