Subramanya Bharatiyar ( "Bharati") and Rabindranath Tagore ( "Kobiguru") were contemporaries. Both made profound impact on the people of their respective states at that time.
However, over the course of the last 100 years, the popularity of Bharati's poems is increasingly being restricted to the cognoscenti. Whereas, Tagore continues to rule the heart of practically every Bengali, even across the border, in Bangladesh. This set me thinking about the possible reasons for this dichotomy between two of the greatest poets the 19th/ 20th centuries have seen, in India, and what could possibly be done now, to set the anomaly right.
Before I start, I have a few disclaimers to make.
Firstly, I must profess my limited exposure to the works of both greats. In addition, my lack of adequate knowledge of Bengali language restricts my ability to relish the poetic beauty of Tagore's works, whereas Tamil being my mother-tongue, I am more at ease with Bharati. You may ask how do I then assess Tagore's works, since I do not know the language well enough. My inferences are from two sources: a) discussing this with a few friends of mine, who are into Rabindra Sangeeth. b) My limited knowledge of Sanskrit helps me in deciphering seemingly difficult words rather effortlessly- it is usually the syntax part that I flounder.
Secondly, I am sure that many PhD theses across the country, and possibly even around the world, could have been based on a comparative study between these two giants. I do not have the time or the wherewithal to do an in-depth, factual study of their works. Rather, I am going to base my viewpoints on my observations and my limited knowledge of classical music. And, I am going to restrict this article to their poems only.
And finally, I am not passing any judgement on who is better, between the two. I would be dead wrong if I even attempted it. Both are geniuses in their own way, and have contributed in no small measure to the literary scene of their respective states. Passing any judgmental views will belittle their great contributions.
Let me now get down to my analyses and inferences.
Let me first take up the lyrical aspect of both. I observe that Tagore's works had consciously shelved literary classicism for simpler yet amazingly powerful words used. He actually used a lot of colloquialism in his works. Result: The commoner, even in the villages, is able to understand and appreciate the lyrical beauty of Tagore. In contrast, Bharati's works have largely stuck to the classical form of Tamizh. The usage of sophisticated words is a connoisseur's delight, but it struggles to strike a chord with the largely unsophisticated masses.
Secondly, Tagore was largely a poet and musician, with wide exposure to the world ( he has travelled 32 countries across 5 continents, at a time when aircrafts were either non existent or sparse) during his 80 long years. He dealt with novels, essays, short stories, travelogues, dramas, and thousands of songs. On the other hand, Bharati was a writer, poet, journalist, Indian independence activist and social reformer. His travels were largely restricted to within the country, in his rather short 40 years of life. Bharati's poems largely focused on nationalism, religion and spirituality, though he had written quite a few poems on more earthly topics like love and romance. I feel that Bharati's poems on romance are more ethereal than Tagore's. So, while poems of both, about the Independence movement, social causes etc. served their purpose during that that period of freedom struggle, Tagore's collection of worldier poems appears to continue to be popular, especially with the support and admiration of the socially less privileged.. At this juncture, though, I need to qualify this statement - this is true strictly for this genre (worldier topics) only. Many of Bharati's other works have laid the foundations of the social changes that we much needed in Tamil Nadu, then and now, and what was what Bharati was known more for- his passion for certain causes like liberation of women, dismantling the caste system etc... at a time when these would have been considered sacrilegious.
Thirdly, on the music quotient, both were Vaageyakarthas ( poets who compose their own music) Bharatiyar set music for some of his own compositions, and even sung them at various conclaves. However the number of such songs set to music by Bharati himself were limited. Tagore, on the contrary, was a prolific musician as well, credited with over 2200 songs of his own. That, in my view, put Tagore in a vantage position. He was able to temper his lucid, simple yet powerful lyrics with equally simple yet captivating music, based largely on Indian Raags, but also influenced by western and other regional music to a significant extent. Tagore the musician was able to pick the most judicious mix of different styles of music, and embellish his prosaic geet, gilting them into the wonderful Rabindra Sangeeth that we now know of. In all this, his focus, however, appears to have simplicity. Simplicity in the way the swarams ( sur) were laid out, with the objective that even the musically ignorant person should be able to hum those songs without too much trying. As an example, the National Anthem Jana Gana was composed by him, and the music too was set by him. If one observes the swarams ( sur), they are very simple, without any meend ( gamakam) , smoothly paced, and yet captivating and inspiring, when recited in conjunction with the lyrics - the hallmark of any worthy National Anthem. The objective clearly was to get each and every citizen sing it ( or murmur it, at the very minimum) with pride and joy. Not surprisingly, the Indian National Anthem is considered to be one of the best in the world. I have been listening to Rabindra Sangeeth for some time now, and I can assure that virtually each and every song of his reflects these innate qualities that make them ubiquitous across Bengal. I am informed that even the humble farmer in the remotest village can rattle off at least a couple of his verses. Such is the popularity of Tagore's poems.
Which takes me to the way Bharatiyar's songs are handled- then and now.
It is well known that though he himself was born in a Brahmin family, Bharati was vociferously against Brahminism. And in those times, the world of music in Tamil Nadu was dominated by the Brahmins, as they would, in practically all other fields. The Brahmin community hated him for his rebellious nature. But paradoxically, it was the brahmin music performers who gave life to Bharati's songs, in their concerts, and help popularize them, until the advent of the cinema. Especially, those hair-raising songs on the freedom struggle had given a new impetus to the movement.
Now, while this gave the much needed platform for his works to be globally visible, it added it's bit of perversions. For one, Classical musicians were, and are, doing a disservice by mispronouncing Tamizh words during concerts. You can frequently hear " Shen-tamizh" instead of Sentamizh, "Shelva Kalanjiyame" instead of Selva Kalanjiyame, just to cite a couple of examples. This brahminized pronunciation, in my opinion, makes the songs esoteric, and in an environment where anti-brahminism is considered a must to "cleanse" the society, it immediately puts off the non-brahmin listener. Not to mention the vitiation of the meaning of the lyrics itself.
Music was set to carnatic style by Bharatiyar himself, for those limited songs he had composed music for. Not folk style, something that could have helped them reach the masses easily. So, while the songs set to Carnatic music sound great in a Kutcheri (concert), it is not easy for a commoner to handle it with the same finesse of a trained musician. That immediately brings in a degree of unmistakeable alleniation.
With the advent of the powerful cinema medium, one would have thought that the music producers would taken some of the best known contemporary lyrics of Bharati and set them to lucid music. But again, that was not to be. Till this day, most music composers tend to lean to classical music to set his songs to, though greenshoot changes are getting more visible, of late.
So, what could be done to take Bharati to every villager's lips? The lyrics are classic and classical in nature, so there is not much to do. What can be done, though, is on the musical front. And the initiative, in my view, should come from the Tamil Nadu government.
For starters, the Government music College, the Iyal, Isai Naadaga Mandram etc should commission a program to "musicalize" a significant portion of his works, if not all. Eminent musicians and music composers from all genres, should be appointed in a task force. Not just carnatic musicians, but people from other areas - movie music directors, folk musicians etc. The mandate should be clear - compose standardized music which is simple, lucid and yet catchy. Music that would capture the essence of those wonderful words. Music that can easily sit on the lips of the commoner.
Then, provide an umbrella brand name for the output. I would call it Bharathi Paatu. This should be followed by a Shanti Niketan-style conducting of courses specializing in Bharati Music for those interested. Get the music to proliferate, though modern-day media and social media. Teach it in government and private schools. One can even think of providing Sales Tax benefits to movies that contain at least one Bharati Paatu. After all, there is nothing like catchy filmi music to popularize content of any genre. And why not? If the mere naming of a movie in Tamizh can give it a tax break, why can't Bharathi Paatu?
This is the least, I think, we can to, to pay tributes to the man who shaped Modern Tamizh literature.
Rabindra Sangeeth has ensured that Tagore shall be etched in people's memory forever. It is the duty of the present generation to make sure that Bharati Paatu makes sure that the Mundaasu Kavignan ( the turbaned poet) remains immortal in the minds of the future generations as well.
❤D❤
