A 4 day celebration marking the 128th wedding anniversary of the Chellamma-
Bharathi couple organised by Sevalaya Charitable Trust is taking place at
Kadayam, Tenkasi district from 24-27 Jun 2025.
On Day 4, 27 June, Rajkumar Bharathi, great grandson of Mahakavi Bharathi,
Sundar, nephew of Chellamma, writer and Bharathi researcher Kadarkarai
Maththavilaasa Angatham presided over the function as Chief Guests.
In his speech, Rajkumar Bharathi recounted interesting incidents from
Bharathiyar’s life and entertained the audience with Bharathiyar songs.
He also shared what various descendants of Mahakavi Bharathi are currently
doing. “Carrying the palanquin celebrating the wedding of the Chellamma-
Bharathi couple and walking the streets of Kadayam where they lived brings back
many memories.”, he said. A book titled Indhiyavin Pudhiya Ezhuchi authored
by Kadarkarai Maththavilaasa Angatham was released by Rajkumar Bharathi and
the first copy was received by Sundar. “Indians are aware of Bhrathiyar’s
life and the contents of this book. But this book contains information about
Bharathiyar and the revolutions he created in India, as experienced by a British
person”, he said. Earlier, a palanquin carrying the decorated picture of the
Chellamma-Bharathi couple was flagged off by Suresh Kumar and Rajkumar Bharathi.
Students of Chathiram school, members of the public and Bharathi enthusiasts
participated in the event. The palanquin was taken as a procession through the
streets of Kadayam. Poetry, writing and speech competitions were also conducted
across Tamil Nadu in the run-up to the day, commemorating the wedding. Around
3,000 school and college students from 20 districts participated. 20 winners
were selected and felicitated on the occasion with cash prizes. Prize winning
students were present on the occasion and received the prizes from the hands of
Rajkumar Bharathi.
Shanmugasundaram (District Library Officer, Tenkasi) and Thirumalaikumarasamy
(District Library Superintendent, Tenkasi) presided over the function. Earlier
the Chief Guests garlanded the Chellamma-Bharathi statue, lit the kuthuvilakku
and inaugurated the function. In his welcome speech, Sevalaya Murali said that
on the fourth day of the wedding celebration, students of Kadayam Kalinilayam
and Sevalaya’s Melaseithalai Community College will be taken
on a one day field trip to educate them about the life and history of our
freedom fighters. He also added that a Chellamma-Bharathi Research Centre
would be established. The event concluded on a pleasant note with a Vote of Thanks by Kalyani Sivagaminathan from Kadayam.
