A.R. Venkatachalapathy book is a racy read that narrates the legal drama behind bringing Subramania Bharati’s works to the public.
Many Indians still do not know about the most read Tamil poet Subramania Bharati, whose works were the first to be nationalised in the country. Historian A.R. Venkatachalapathy therefore must be lauded for writing a book on Bharati for uninformed non-Tamil readers in the first place.
The book takes the reader through the life of a largely unsung poet, whose works were entangled in a legal drama after his death. ‘Who Owns That Song’ is a tussle between Bharati’s family, friends, musicians, artistes, and the government over the copyright of his oeuvre.
The book describes the impoverished life of the poet who was extremely confident of his works but could not make a mark, and the subsequent drama over the publishing and broadcasting rights after his early demise.
From the poet’s half brother C. Visvanathan to movie mogul A.V. Meiyappan to theatre artist T.K. Shanmugam and then finally the government, Bharati’s works wriggled through many hands.
The book describes the urgency shown by the Tamil Nadu government in acquiring the copyrights forcefully from individuals to make it state property.
In 1949, the government got the rights and six years later the works were made entirely public. Author Venkatachalapathy does not fail to mention the ineptitude of the state and bureaucratic red tape that further delayed the process.
The book is a racy read that juxtaposes the politics of the time with Bharati’s own life and provides abundant historical details.
The author provides brief biographies wherever possible for notable personalities involved in the story probably for achieving the target number of pages. This is probably the only downfall.
A few selected poems of Bharati translated by renowned Tamil scholar M.L. Thangappa at the end of the book are a delightful addition and leave the reader fulfilled and content.
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