Sevalaya took the initiative to correct a historic injustice to Bharathiyar by creating a monument for him at Kadayam. Kadayam is the birth place of Bharathiyar’s wife Chellamma. It was at Kadayam where the poet had spent 2 years towards the end of his life and penned immortal poems. It was at Kadayam where Bharathiyar was outcasted for his ahead-of-the- times ideas on gender equality, which attracted the ire of the villagers … how dare he put his hand on the shoulder of his young wife and walk in public? A statue of the couple was made ready in 2019, the 122nd anniversary year of their marriage. But land and permission to erect the statue was delayed for over three years due to red tapism. That long cherished wish of the Sevalaya family come true in 2022, by setting up the Chellamma Bharathi Learning Centre, where stood a dilapidated Government Library. Built with a lot of passion by Sevalaya, with the participation of so many admirers of the social reformer.
Chellamma Bharathi Ratha Yathra:Tamil Nadu pays homage to people’s poet
The rich and the poor, the scholars and school children, ministers, MLAs and Mayors, people’s representatives and ordinary men, women and children – an estimated 1,00,000 admirers thronged to pay homage to this people’s poet. Along a thousand kilo meters across 14 districts of Tamil nadu, Bharathiyar, his hand defiantly resting on Chellamma’s slender shoulder, received a warm welcome as his admirers must have recalled his poems that must have impacted them in different phases of their past lives. Over 80 schools and colleges hosted the couple, bedecked in flowers and riding astride a ratham (chariot). Over 40,000
students participated at the events, claiming over 2,000 prizes, for poetry recitation, oratory, singing, dancing, drawing and fancy dress. Any open
space became the venue for stop overs – bus stands and markets, temples,
churches and mosques becoming extempore venues. There couldn’t have been a better demonstration of Bharathi’s egalitarianism than the cross section that greeted him. When the ratham reached Manukkula Vinayagar temple in Puducherry, a middle-aged flower seller came with a couple of flower garlands.
No, she wasn’t trying to sell them. It was her homage to the poet, but she hesitated, saying, “I am only a flower seller”. From the third generation of flower sellers attached to that temple, her grandparents might well have known Bharathi, during his 10-year stay at Puducherry. The ratham was flagged off at Kasuva by Uma Bharathi, a relative of the couple. It was a moving union, as it were, for Lalitha Bharathi (94), grand daughter of the couple, when the ratham reached her home at Anna Nagar, Chennai, where she is residing with her son Rajkumar Bharathi. She had been immobile and had not spoken a word for a while. Brought on a chair and seated next to the twin statue, her lips more than quivered as she tried to say “Chellamma” whom she remembered. That moment created many wet eyes. At Sirkazhi, the Brahmin’s Association greeted the ratham with arathi and vedic chants. Round the bend, the Islamic Association sought a stopover, to garland the statue.
At Srirangam, Girija Hariharan Bharathi, another relative, gave a 90-minute concert including Bharathi songs. Singer Raj Kumar Bharathi, great grandson of Bharathi- Chellamma and his son Niranjan, a lyricist, were Chief Guests at two impressive functions at Coimbatore. Bharathi – Chellamma have already re-entered Kadayam, and this time received by the local population with overwhelming warmth and pride – unlike what the couple experienced when they lived in Kadayam during 1919 – 1920. There their statue and the value systems will be immortalised at the Chellamma – Bharathi Learning Centre, initiated by Sevalaya as an article and act of faith, shaped by the donations of diehard Bharathi fans.
Kalanilayam in Kadayam
It was Mahakavi Bharathi’s dream to establish an Arts Centre (Kalanilayam) at Kadayam to teach India’s traditional arts. But a conservative, hostile local population then, as well as lack of financial and human resources thwarted Bharathi’s dream.
Sevalaya decided to take up the project and transform the dream of one of its inspirers to reality. Kalanilayam was established at Sevalaya’s Chellamma Bharathi Learning Centre in 2023. Indian traditional arts including Bharatanatyam, Carnatic music and Yoga are taught through regular evening classes attended by 68 trainees.
Chellamma Bharathi Wedding Anniversary Competitions
Sevalaya is hosting exciting competitions centered around the life and poems of Mahakavi Bharathiyar for students from schools and colleges all over Tamil Nadu. Winners will be honoured with prizes during the grand celebrations of Chellamma – Bharathi wedding anniversary on 27th June.
