Kannadasan

இந்தப் பக்கத்தை தமிழில் வாசிக்க: கண்ணதாசன் ‎

Kannadasan (June 24, 1927 – October 17, 1981) was a Tamil poet, Film Lyricist, Writer, Journalist, Politician, Spiritual Speaker. Kannadasan, who rose to fame through Tamil film songs, was a supporter of the Dravidian movement and later a supporter of the Congress. He wrote Short Epics and Private Songs. He is known as the last important poet who wrote in Classical Poetry.

Birth, Education

Kannadasan was born as the eight son of Sathappan Chettiar and Visalakshi Aachi couple in a Nattukottai Nagarathar Family in June 24, 1927, in Sirukudalpatti near Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, India. His given birth name was Muthiah. Along with his 10 siblings (six brothers, three sisters) he was jointly adopted by Palaniappa Chettiar - Chigappi Achi (died December 25, 1958) at an early age. He lived in the house under the name Narayanan.

After completing his primary education at Sirukudalpatti, he studied up to class eight at Amaravathiputhur High School. In 1943, Kannadasan joined Thiruvottriyur joined Ajax company.

Private Life

At the age of 16 Kannadasan went to Chennai without telling anyone in his home and took the nickname Chandrasekaran to look for opportunities to act in films. He started writing stories while working as an assistant at Ajax Company, Thiruvottriyur. His first story 'Nilavoliyile' appeared in the magazine Gragalakshmi. He returned to Karaikudi in 1944 and joined Thirumagal magazine as a proofreader. That's when he took the name Kannadasan.

Kannadasan's first marriage took place on February 9, 1950 in Karaikudi with Ponnazaki alias Ponnammal. They have 4 sons Kanmanisubbu, Kalaivanan, Ramasamy and Venkatachalam and 3 daughters Alamelu Sokkalingam, Thenammai and Visalakshi. Kannadasan married Parvathi for the second time on 11 November 1951. They have seven children namely Gandhi, Kamal, Annadurai, Gopal Krishnan, Srinivasan and 2 daughters Revathi and Kalaichelvi. At the age of fifty, Kannadasan got married to Poet Valliammai. They have a daughter Vishali.

Literary Life

Kannadasan's first story 'Nilavoliyile' was published in 1944 in the magazine Gragalakshmi. He wrote articles, political reviews and film reviews under various names such as Karaimuthu Pulavar, Vanangamudi, Kamakapiriya, Parvathinathan, Arogyasamy. He wrote his first short epic 'Mangani' in 1952-1953 while in jail during the Dalmiapuram name change struggle.

Kannadasan's world of poetry is very wide. He belongs entirely to the world of classical poetry. He continued to write short epics, individual songs and sittrilakiyangal. His classical poems written in Kumudam weekly magazine are very popular. Soundra Kailasam's response poem 'Manudarai Paduvom' to Kannadasan's poem 'Manudarai Padamatten' was very famous.

Kannadasan wrote serialized novels starting from the magazine he ran, Thedral, to Rani weekly, a simple common reading magazine. They were of common reading, slightly crossing the sexual boundaries of the time. He also wrote Historical Fantasy novels Cheraman Kathali, Kumarakandam. They were also targetted for the common reading platform.

Movie Career

In 1949, Kannadasan wrote the song Kalangathiru Maname in the K. Ramnath-directed film Kanniyin Kathali, produced by Jupiter Films. After that he worked as a lyricist for thirty years. He wrote film dialogues for many movies starting from movie Illarajothi.

Journalism

Kannadasan has started and ran many magazines. He has also been involved in the process of many magazines.

• Sandamarutham
• Mullai
• Methavi
• Thendral
• Thendralthirai
• Kannadasan

Politics

In 1949 Kannadasan joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). He participated in many political events including the Kallakudi protest and anti-Hindi protest organized by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. He resigned from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on April 9, 1961. In 1957, he contested the Thirkoshtiyur assembly seat and failed. In 1962, he started the Tamil National Party along with E.V.K. Sampath. In 1964, the party merged with the Tamil National Congress.

Kannadasan became a Congress member and engaged in political campaigning as an ardent supporter of Kamaraj. After Kamaraj's death he became a supporter of the Indian National Congress (Indra) faction. He remained a Congress supporter till the end. He severely criticized M. Karunanidhi and M.G. Ramachandran. When M.G. Ramachandran came to power, he was appointed as the government's poet on March 28, 1978.

Spirituality

Kannadasan was born in a family of traditional Saiva followers. He changed his name to Kannadasan in 1944 due to his devotion to Bhagavad Gita and Krishna. He became an atheist in 1949 when he became a supporter of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. But he says in his later autobiography that he was still a theist and used to remove the Thiruneer from his forehead and get on the stage to talk about atheism.

After leaving the Dravidian movement, he became an Theist again. His simplified text for Bhagavad Gita is famous. He also translated Adi Shankara's Kanakatara Stotra. He wrote small epics about his family deity Sirukudapatti. He gained great fame with songs ending 'Sirukudarpatti Enum Sittrooril Uraigindra Selvamalairasi Umaiye'.

He wrote 'Arthamulla Indhu Matham' explaining Hindu rituals and principles in a simple manner. It is Kannadasan's best-selling book, which led to many similar books. But Kannadasan's spirituality was of a conciliatory nature. He compiled the history of Jesus in the end times and wrote a book called 'Yesukaviyam'. He also intended to make life epic of Nabigal Nayagam.

Awards

• Sahitya Academy Award (For Cheraman Kathali)

Demise

Kannadasan had a practice of drugging Bethadin. He got very sick and was admitted to Chicago City Hospital on July 24, 1981 and died on Saturday, October 17 at 10.45 IST. His body was brought to Chennai from America on 20th October and cremated on 22 October with state honors after public last rites.

Memorials, Memories

Government of Tamil Nadu has constructed Kaviarasu Kannadasan Mani Mandapam near the new bus station in Karaikudi, Sivagangai district. This memorial was built at an estimated cost of Rs. 84 lakhs was announced in 1981 by the then Chief Minister MGR, the foundation stone was laid in 1990 by Chief Minister Karunanidhi, and was inaugurated by Chief Minister Selvi. Jayalalitha in1992. The two-storied memorial has a bust of Kaviarasu Kannadasan. There is a memorial on the upper floor and a library with 2400 books on the lower floor. Photographs related to Kaviarasu Kannadasan's biography are exhibited.

In 2013, a postage stamp was issued for Kannadasan.

Kannadasan Kazhagam from Coimbatore presents Kannadasan Awards for Literature and Poetry.

Autobiographies

Kaviarasu Kannadasan Kathai - Vanangamudi (Kannadasan Publications)

Literary Place

After C. Subramania Bharathiar and Bharathidasan, Tamil traditional poetry was carried forward by poets belonging to the Bharathidasan lineage and by poets of the Namakkal poet tradition. But by the 1970s most of them stagnated. Many of Bharathidasan's lineage came to the new form of poetry through the Vanambadi poetry movement. The legacy of Namakkal poets disappeared.

Most of the poets belonging to the Bharathidasan tradition wrote political poems. So they could not work in all the niches of traditional poetry. Many of them reject traditional mental states. Therefore, their vocabulary does not match traditional poetry.

Kannadasan is considered to be the last poet who fully revealed the diction, sound and style of traditional poetry. Due to his training in Yappu and mastery of Classical Literature, Kannadasan wrote poetry in Yappu with spontaneous style.

The highlights of Kannadasan's poems are mentioned as below,

• A natural, effortless arrangement (Yappamaithi). He emerges effortlessly even in a complex yappu like the Asiriya Virutham and Enseer Kazinezhiadi.
• Reconstructing and presenting beautiful rhetoric and parables taken from tradition poetry in his own way.
• Unlike most traditional poets, he expressed his life experiences and emotions in poetry instead of writing based on what he learned.
• A practical philosophical view, rooted in tradition and the result of personal experience, is sharply expressed in simple phrases.

Kannadasan's literary niche is through his short epics like Mangani and individual poems.

Kannadasan's fictions are intended to appeal to common readers. They were favored in the common reading environment of the day.