B. R. Rajam Iyer
இந்தப் பக்கத்தை தமிழில் வாசிக்க: பி.ஆர். ராஜம் ஐயர்
B.R. Rajam Iyer (B. R. Rajam Aiyer/ B. R. Rajamaiyar) ( January 25, 1872 - May 13, 1898) is an author, novelist, journalist, spiritual and philosophical thinker. His full name is B. R. Sivasubramanya Iyer. Rajam Iyer authored Kamalambal Charithiram, one of the earliest novels written in Tamil. He is considered to be the pioneer in realist novels in Tamil.
Personal Life
Rajam Iyer was born on January 25, 1872 at Vathalakkundu , Tamil Nadu to Ramaiya Sastry. Rajam Iyer's family was into agriculture and a few agricultural lands of Ramaiya Sastry were the main source of income to the family. B. R. Rajam Iyer got married at the age of 13 to 9 year old Ramalakshmi.
B. R. Rajam Iyer had his early education at Sethupathi High School, Madurai and completed his FA degree from Madura Native High School, Madurai. He graduated in History from Madras Christian College in the year 1889 and then joined the Law college, Chennai to pursue law. He couldn't succeed in the final exam and this failure shattered him. As a result, Rajam Iyer, an introvert and reclusive person started being aloof. Frusted Rajam Iyer got a book authored by Thayumanavar and the book paved the way for him to philosophy and vedanta. Books like Kaivalya Navaneetham and the poetries of Tattuvaraya Swamigal took him through the path of wisdom.
Literary Life
B. R. Rajam Iyer was a scholar in Tamil literature. At the age of 17, Rajam Iyer wrote a critical review of Kachikalambagam, a Tamil poem by Poondi Aranganatha Mudaliar. The review, published in the Madras Christian College magazine, was Rajam Iyer's first publication in the print media and revealed his scholarliness. His family got relocated to Chennai during this time. The literary works of Shelley, Wordsworth and Tennyson made him interested in poetries. Rajam Iyer was very much impressed by the Tamil poet Kamban.
In the year 1893, Rajam Iyer got an opportunity to serialize the novel Kamalambal charithiram, in the monthly magazine Viveka Chintamani. He was only 21 years old when he wrote this, the second novel of Tamil language. He has stated that the main purpose of writing this novel is to describe the journey of a restless soul indulging in worldrly pleasures, experiencing difficulties and then attaining the immaculate, eternal bliss. He has used many proverbs, fables and the vedic and vedantha concepts in a simple and lucid language. He has also quoted lyrics from Kamba Ramayanam, Thirukural, Nalavenba, Thayumanavar Paadal, Pattinathar Paadal, Arichandra Puranam, Neethi Neri Vilakkam and mentioned about "Puck", the demon from Shakespear's Mid Summer Dreams also in this novel. These reveal his mastery over Tamil and English literature.
Though Rajam Iyer has read the British novelists William Thackaray and Oliver Goldsmith, he could write the Kamalambal Charithiram novel without any influence their style. The novel showed his skills and his perspective about life and was the beginning of a new literary tradition in Tamil.
Apart from this novel, Rajam Iyer wrote a serial Seethai in the magazine Vivega Chinthamani. The plot of this serial was in the form of a dialogue between Janaki and Natarajan admiring the glory of Seetha and proficiency of the poet Kambar. But this serial was not published as a book.
Spirituality
When Rajam Iyer was residing at Thiruvallikeni in Chennai, a lady monk was giving sermons near his home. Rajam Iyer was attending the sermons everyday and the lady monk could understand his inclination towards philosophy and blessed him touching his head. This blessing gave a rare and divine spiritual experience for Rajam Iyer. While his inclination towards philosophy increased, he could shed away the interest in worldly affairs.
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