A Mahakavi from Sri Lanka who infused social consciousness in Tamil poetry

“The nature of my present work is such that I think no apology is needed for offering it to the public. I claim it to be unique, at least as far as Jaffna is concerned; for without following the beaten track of composing lyrics on personal, religious or dramatic themes which have had at any rate, a portion of their share of attention at far worthier hands than mine, and in spite of the thought that praising God is the noblest use to which the poetic genius can be put, my muse has preferred to sing on subjects of moral and general utility, the verses which can be used irrespective of creed…”

So reads the preface of Geetha Rasamanjari, a 1901 poetry collection penned by TA Turaiyappapillai. Like Subramania Bharathi (1882 -1921) in Tamil Nadu, Turaiyappapillai (1872 – 1929) is considered a forerunner of modern Tamil literature in Sri Lanka.

Quoting this passage in his 1987 article, ‘A Century of Tamil Poetry in Sri Lanka: An Introductory Note’, published in the Journal of South Asian Literature, well-known academic K Kailasapathy says the real breakthrough for Sri Lankan Tamil poetry came in the mid-1950s when a band of young poets such as Mahakavi, AN Kandasamy, R Murugaiyan and Sillaiyar Selvaraj, introduced into their poetry the concept of social consciousness with a sense of urgency and passion which has since remained the main trait of Tamil poetry.

Of the poets mentioned by Kailasapathy, it was Mahakavi who could be considered the real inheritor of Turaiyappapillai’s legacy. On his part, Mahakavi urged the poets, especially the younger ones, to write about “difficulties, hard work, poverty and greatness of humanity rather than only singing paeans to nature, forest, sea, clouds and breeze–all things normally considered as main elements of poetry”.

According to Kailasapathy, Turaiyappapillai was not really celebrated much despite the social consciousness he spread with his poetry. Critics, Kailasapathy says, started to “value his [Turaiyappapillai] poetry and other writings, and established his reputation as a serious literary personality” only from 1972 onwards when his birth centenary was celebrated. Before 1972, Turaiyappapillai was known only as an educationist who founded Mahajana College in Tellippalai, Jaffna.

Leave aside readers, even the critics in Tamil Nadu have rejected Mahakavi’s works as just another marabu kavithai (traditional poetry).

Much like Turaiyappapillai, it took five decades after Mahakavi’s death for the literary circle to celebrate the real genius in him. His poetry and other writings have been collected and published in three volumes in 2021, a year that marked his 50th death anniversary. The compilation of his work gave critics the opportunity to reevaluate Mahakavi’s writings.

A self-made ‘Mahakavi’

Born in Alaveddy in Jaffna as Thuraisamy Rudramoorthy on January 9, 1927, Mahakavi started to pen poems at the age of 14 while he was still in school. His father Thuraisamy was a popular Thavil (a percussion instrument) exponent.

His poems started getting published in magazines such as Grama Oozhiyan, Marumalarchi, Eela Kesari and Anandan in 1943. During his early days, Rudramoorthy wrote poems under his own name and pseudonyms like Pandithar, Vanan, Pudu Kamban, Kaappiyaatrung Kaappiyanaar, Pudunapulavar and Maapaadi. One of his literary friends AN Kandasamy wrote poems under the name ‘Kaveendran’. In search of a more attractive pseudonym for his literary pursuits, Rudramoorthy chose ‘Mahakavi’ as his pen name.

As the family lived in abject poverty, Rudramoorthy was unable to pursue higher studies and moved to Colombo in search of work at the age of 19. In the capital of the island nation, Rudramoorthy began working as a clerk.

From Jaffna to Colombo, Rudramoorthy continued dabbling in poetry.

“At the age of 16, he collected and published his poems as handwritten manuscripts and dedicated those books to some of his friends. He also did the artworks for his book covers. He was conscious in editing his own poems. Unfortunately, many of his works were lost and displaced during the 30-year civil war in the country,” says MA Nuhman, who is the editor of three volumes of Mahakavi’s writings which were published in June 2021 by Jeevanathy Publications, Jaffna. The volumes include Mahakavi’s poems, epics and plays.

Many of Mahakavi’s works were lost and displaced during the 30-year civil war in the country

Mahakavi married at the age of 28 and fathered five children – Pandian, Cheran, Cholan, Iniyal and Avvai. His second son Cheran, who works as a professor at the department of sociology, anthropology and criminology, University of Windsor, Canada, is a well-known Tamil poet. In 1967, Mahakavi passed the Ceylon Administrative Service exam and served as district land reform commissioner in places such as Mannar, Jaffna and Batticaloa.

On June 20, 1971, at the age of 44, Mahakavi died due to heart-related ailments. As long as Mahakavi lived only four of his books were published.

An unsung poet

“Mahakavi influenced many Tamil poets such as Sirpi Balasubramaniam, Abdul Rahman, Meera and, Erode Tamilanban but never got the attention he deserved either in Sri Lanka or Tamil Nadu,” says Y Manikandan, professor and head of department for Tamil, University of Madras.

In a long essay, Abdul Rahman writes about Mahakavi’s contribution to limericks—a humorous poem of five lines. In Tamil, Mahakavi named limericks as Kurumpa. It was a sort of double entendre, a combination of the words ‘kurumbu’ (mischief) and ‘pa’ (a short song)’, says Manikandan, who organised a webinar to celebrate the poet in September 2021.

“Similarly, poet Erode Tamilanban—whose has written Chennimalai Cleopatrakal, a book of limericks—explains in the preface of his book how other Tamil poets such as Tha Kovendhan and ML Thangappa were influenced by Mahakavi’s kurumpa. Poet Meera, whose book Cuckoo was on the lines of kurumpa, acknowledges the contributions of Mahakavi. He was a poet’s poet,” says Manikandan.

Although Mahakavi, Manikandan adds, is known among poets, he is not much popular among the general literary readers.

“Today in Sri Lanka, the younger generation has become aware of Mahakavi because some of his works have been included in school and college syllabus. But the situation in Tamil Nadu is different,” says Nuhman, who has also served as a professor, department of Tamil, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.

Even though poets from Tamil Nadu have written about Mahakavi, his fame is not commensurate with his work. This even when Mahakavi’s works were published in the 1940s, the 1960s and the 1970s in popular magazines, including his poems in Coimbatore-based Vaanambadi’s special issue on poet movements.

“In 1974, due to the efforts of academic Salai Ilanthiraiyan, Mahakavi’s two epics, Kandappa Sabadham and Sadangu, were published as books. In 1984, Chennai-based Cre-A publications had brought out 11 Eelathu Kavignargal, a book which had selected poems of 11 Sri Lankan Tamil poets including Mahakavi. The same year, Mahakavi 50 Kavidhaigal was published by Annam Publications. Then in 2000, Ilangai Murpokku Kalai Ilakkiya Mandram and South Vision Books brought out a book, Mahakaviyin Moondru Nadagangal. In 2008, Mahakaviyin Aaru Kaaviyangal, a book by Adayalam Publications was published. The same year with the help of another Sri Lankan writer and publisher S Ponnudurai, Mahakaviyin Porul Nooru came out,” says Nuhman.

Despite all these books, Mahakavi has not been known widely in the state. Leave aside readers, even the critics in Tamil Nadu have rejected Mahakavi’s works as just another marabu kavithai (traditional poetry). Many progressive writers even consider Mahakavi as retrograde, rues Nuhman.

Bringing Tamil poetry alive

Nuhman insists it is wrong to limit Mahakavi as a Sri Lankan Tamil poet. “He not only influenced Tamil poets, but he too was influenced by popular poets such as Bharathidasan and Kalaivanan of Tamil Nadu. But over the years, he charted his own pattradh.”

His poems, according to Nuhman, are not conceptual but experiential. “He was of the opinion that ‘versification is not poetry’. Unprecedented realism in the poetry, humanism and day-to-day life experiences, expressing his experiences in poetry as visual images were some of the unique elements of Mahakavi’s poetry.”

“Like Subramania Bharathi, Mahakavi has introduced vasana kavithai (prose poetry) in Sri Lankan modern Tamil literature. In the initial days, many rejected his poetry because they were unable to comprehend it,” says renowned Tamil scholar and two times Sahitya Akademi award winning poet Sirpi Balasubramaniam.

Countering this allegation, Mahakavi in one of his poems—‘Sigarathai Naan Amaippen’— states that he is bound to face criticism because he is trying to bring alive Tamil poetry which had been turned into a stone. “He vowed that one day his poem will travel in all directions and bring laurels to him,” Balasubramaniam adds.

Like Subramania Bharathi, Mahakavi has introduced vasana kavithai (prose poetry) in Sri Lankan modern Tamil literature.

In poetry, Balasubramaniam goes on to elaborate, Mahakavi used many formats and metrics such as venba, kurumpa, etc, which he used to tell a story. Besides poetry, Mahakavi also wrote kaaviyangal (epics), at a time when the Tamil literary world thought the period of epics was over and epics had become redundant. In one of his epics, Kanmaniyaal Kaathai, he criticised the caste hierarchy in society. His plays, however, attained more popularity than his epics. His plays used both literary and colloquial Tamil. One of his plays, Puthiyathoru Veedu, talks about a fisherman and his life.

“Had it been published at the right time, it could have become another literary great like Chemmeen and received well by the readers,” says Balasubramaniam.

According to Nuhman, Mahakavi took Tamil poetry to new heights within a very short period of time, say, 25 years. “Our poetry criticism is based on taste, not on theory. So the evaluation of Mahakavi’s poetry has not got the depth it deserves.”

His last 10 years were most productive. When Tamil Nadu was mostly busy with the Sabha-centred drama groups, a modern theatre form emerged in Sri Lanka to which Mahakavi has contributed immensely, adds Balasubramaniam.

During a webinar, sharing his father’s memories, Cheran says: “One of his epics, Oru Saadhaarana Manidhanin Kathai, was based on his own life. He always considered that ordinary men’s lives have epic values. When he was in the hospital, he wanted us to read the 10 chapters of that epic after his death, instead of doing other rituals.”

Mahakavi was very close to nature but realistic too. “He always asked us to read non-fiction. The advice he gave goes like this: ‘The country is big. Search for the paths less travelled. Move on sans boredom.’”

And that perhaps most succinctly describes what Mahakavi aimed to achieve through his writings and thus becoming the real inheritor of the legacy of Turaiyappapillai.