Locals in Mannar held an event to celebrate the revolutionary Tamil poet Subramani Bharathi, fondly known as Bharathiyar, last week in a show that celebrated Tamil culture, dance and literature.

Hindu, Catholic and Muslim leaders were invited to the event, alongside local politicians.

Performances were held to showcase the beauty of the Tamil culture and celebrate the Tamil poet.

Bharathiyar was born in Ettayapuram, Thoothukudi district, in 1882 and worked as a teacher before he became a full-fledged writer and poet. His poem Thamil Mozhi Vaazhthu - 'invocation to Mother Tamil' - was traditionally sung in Tamil schools across the North-East, and is still sung to inaugurate Tamil cultural events, as a replacement of the Sri Lankan national anthem.

Another iconic poem Achamillai - 'fearless' - is also popularly invoked as a rallying cry of Tamil resistance.

Although Bharathiyar died prematurely in 1928 in Chennai aged 28, his output was prolific and he later came to be regarded as the greatest modern Tamil poet. 

He inspired several generations of writers and poets, most notably Kanagasabai Subbu, who took the name Bharathidasan out of his love for Bharathi’s works. 

Bharathi’s oeuvre is extensive in range, encompassing works on language, love, morality, nationalism and anti-casteism, among others.  ​