Bharathi-served Sethupathi school to have poet’s statue in classroom

The fiery poet, who played a phenomenal role in the freedom movement served as a teacher of Tamil at the Sethupathi Higher Secondary School, located in the heart of Madurai city. “His significant contribution in the short period would last forever,” said C Gopalakrishnan, Head Master of the school, which came into existence in 1889.

As a mark of reverence to the poet, the class room, in which he served as the teacher, was kept intact so as not to disturb its traditional status, said the Head Master. The class room with tiled roof and traditional concrete structure remains the same since the commencement of the school.

“Now, the administration is contemplating to create a museum in honour of the late poet Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi. Works are on to erect a sculpted image of the poet in the teaching posture,” he said.  “We were gifted indeed to have witnessed his dedication at work in this school,” the head master added.

The museum will also house books written by and on Bharathiar, the HM informed.

Bharathiar was appointed as Tamil teacher on a temporary posting in place of Arasan Shanmuganar, the other teacher, who went on leave. The poet served in the school from August 1 to November 8 in 1904 and earned a monthly salary of Rs 17.50, the head master recalled to DT Next.

R Lakshmi Narayanan, secretary, Bharathiar Thinkers Forum, Madurai, while recounting the poet’s history, said he also worked as a translator in the ‘Samasthanam’ of Zamindar in Ettayapuram, his birthplace, in Thoothukudi district, in those days after completing studies in Varanasi.

The national poet also distinguished himself as a journalist after the launch of ‘Swadesamitran, a Tamil newspaper published from the then Madras city during those days. Though Bharati was a universal poet, who got national acclaim through the freedom movement, he was not accredited on a par with Rabindranath Tagore, the Bengali poet, who composed the national anthem.

“The Union government did not recognise Bharati as a ‘national poet,” he said. Moreover, he recalled that it was former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister CN Annadurai, who recognised Bharati as ‘People’s Poet’ and penned a volume of ‘The Greatness of Bharati’ in a centenary souvenir.

On the occasion of the Poet’s 137th birth anniversary on Tuesday, students dressed themselves as the Poet with turbans over their heads, black jackets and dhotis, approached the age old school and offered floral tributes at the Poet’s statue on the school premises.

At the Poet’s birthplace in Ettayapuram, people including writers and Tamil scholars garlanded his statue at Bharathiyar manimandapam on the occasion and got access to his ancient house being maintained by the government.