The boy who was till then referred to as “Ettayapuram Subbiah” came henceforth to be known as “Bharathi”, and later he was respectfully referred to as “Bharathiar” by nationalists and by millions of Tamil lovers all over the globe. This was a memorable moment in Subbiah’s life.
The contest was held at a special sitting of the Ettayapuram Durbar at which the Rajah (the ruler) himself was present. He threw a challenge to the eminent men in the assembly of scholars that they should have a contest with him in a debate on any subject without any previous notice or preparation. In the eleventh year, Subbiah felt that he had to establish his credentials. When he was eleven, he wrote in such a way that even learned men praised him for his great knowledge and skill. Bharati’s birth home at Ettayapuram has been renovated by Tamil Nadu government and open to the publicĪt the age of seven, Subbiah started writing poems in Tamil.
His father was Chinnaswamy Iyer and his mother was Lakshmi Ammal. Subramaniya Bharathiyar was born on 11 th December 1882, in a village called Ettayapuram in Tirunelveli District in Tamil Nadu and his childhood name was Subbiah. His songs on nationalism and freedom of India helped to rally the masses to support the Indian Independence Movement in Tamil Nadu. He is considered as one of India’s greatest poets. He was known as Mahakavi Bharathiyar and the laudatory epithet Mahakavi means a great poet.
Subramaniya Bharathiyar was a poet, freedom fighter and social reformer from Tamil Nadu.