There is a relatively little known dimension to the literary personality of Subramaniam Bharathi (1882–1921).
Known for his songs and poems, Bharti tried to arouse nationalist sentiments among the people, he also wrote many short stories.
Although the short story, in the form of creative writing, gained currency in Tamil after the launch of manikodi, a magazine that lasted six years (1933–39), Bharati can be considered a pioneer, who also used the form to reflect his literary expression. But there are other ideas. Veteran Tamil writer-playwright Indira Parthasarathy believes that short story, as a literary form, was not fully developed in the West even during Bharathi’s period. “So, he used short stories as a didactic medium.”
True to her specialty, Bharti covered a range of subjects in her short stories, from philosophy to the evils of the caste system, and from Hindu-Muslim unity to women’s empowerment. This can be seen in his collection of 11 stories, compiled by Raja Muthirulandi, an academic based in Tiruchi.
The collection, released on the occasion of the author’s 100th death anniversary, highlights another interesting aspect: Bharathi used various pen names such as Shelidas, Kalidasan and Shaktidasan to write the stories between 1905 and 1920.