Has enough been done to perpetuate the memory of U.Ve.Sa,
who gifted priceless literature to posterity?
It is important that February 19 is remembered for on this
day in 1855 was born a man who did so much for Tamil as a language. But he
never got his due. Not even a university named after the person, whose crusade
was to restore lost literary treasure.
Most speakers of Tamil will know U.Ve. Swaminatha Iyer as
‘Thamizh Thatha.’ Some may have heard of his untiring efforts to bring the
Sangam period literature back into circulation and accessible to the larger
population and thereby contribute substantially to Tamil being accorded the
status of a classical language. But very few would have read his brilliant
autobiography, ‘En Charitram.’ The 762 pages of simple and easy to understand
Tamil are divided into several chapters and sub-chapters. All of them reveal leadership
lessons to which young children should have access. Ways to incorporate
sections of his book into education, making it more accessible to those who may
not feel comfortable reading Tamil will be the finest way to remember this
great scholar.
Among many reasons, the book deserves to be clubbed with the
finest autobiographies ever written, for three reasons:
The initial chapters and to some extent the later chapters,
are vivid, with factual descriptions of daily life in the 1830s–1870s in Thanjavur
district. While political history of this time is well recorded, the daily
lives are not – simple details of wedding ceremonies (the groom paid for the
expenses and a bride price), schooling (4 a.m.-5 p.m. with each student having
to supply his own sand everyday) give a fascinating insight into the lives of
ordinary folks. His family was deeply entrenched in music and we have
information of stalwarts such as Ghanam Krishna Iyer, Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan as
well as patrons of those days (often with house address details) in Ariyalur
and other areas. His pilgrimage to attend the 1878 consecration of Madurai
Meenakshi temple speaks of the Vaigai with water and flanked by coconut groves,
hardly imaginable today!
From an inspirational point, his life is yet another example
of how persistence, perseverance and ethical living are the surest way to
lasting success though money will come slowly.
The indigent circumstances of the family did not prevent
them from holding on to values. In a moving passage he speaks of how a friend
of his father taunted him for choosing Tamil over English. He then decided to
learn from Meenakshisundaram Pillai (whose portly but radiating appearance is
fondly described). He went about the task in a systematic manner of reading his
texts and cultivating the friendships of those who knew him and could get him a
meeting. His description of his guru’s death and his own move to Kumbakonam
from Tiruvavaduturai are deeply moving even after 137 years when read by
someone several generations later.Finally is his ability to look at everything
with hope and positivity. There are times when he faces difficulty, but things
do get better and he does his own bit. Particularly illustrative is the
patience he had in comparing different versions of ‘Sivaka Chintamani’ and
bringing it to press despite many obstacles.
As his 160th anniversary approaches, perhaps we will see an
audio book, and parts of the text in school texts and an account of the
descendants of the many people he mentions, including Ariyalur Sadagopa
Iyengar, Senganam Vridhachala Reddiar, Judge Muthusamy Iyer and his colleagues
in the Kumbakonam college – Gopal Rao, ‘Ladu’ Sesha Iyer, R.V. Srinivasa Iyer,
B. Hanumanth Rao and of course his guru, Meenakshisundaram Pillai, Thyagaraja
Chettiar, who got him to Kumbakonam and Salem Ramasamy Mudaliar who inspired
him to look at Sangam literature.
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