C. P. And Tamil

It is difficult to write with restraint about. C. P. All valuable judgments tend to turn into admiration; and moderation seems to take the bit between its teeth and bolt. He was born great, achieved more greatness, and had still more greatness thrust upon him.

Ancestry, opportunity, talent and industry–all contributed to make him what he was. Genes are unassailable proofs against the modern misconceived, misdirected and lop-sided, notions of socialism. C. P. provides another kind of disproof.

The other day, at the inauguration of the C. P. Centenary Celebrations, many spoke, but they missed a few aspects. He is such a combination of brilliances that, unless you look at him all angles, you are likely to miss a few of them. His knowledge and scholarship in Tamil literature was an aspect which none of them touched upon, and I wish to touch upon it here.

Most people know of his knowledge of English in speaking and writing, and would have had a fair understanding of its range and depth. They know too that he liked to embellish and emphasise his statements by interlarding them with French and Sanskrit quotations. They could check his knowledge of Sanskrit, but of his French they could only wonder, for, generally, they knew no French. His approach was refreshingly fresh, and often daring. His lectures on ‘Compromise’, ‘Disobey’ and ‘Humour in Sanskrit Drama’, addressed to student-audiences were thought provoking. Disobeying tyrant grammarians, who mercilessly, joylessly, put their crushing foot on gossamer poetry, is a mode of thought which should be cultivated. E. S. Bates, the authority on translation, has said the same thing much later, and thus: “The technically-minded man is evil in all his ways. Unemployment amongst grammarians needs to be raised to 101 per cent.”

Very few, however, know how accomplished C. P. was in Tamil. He was a born Tamil, and Tamil was the first language he learnt. It was bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. He could not, and did not, ignore it, nor undervalue it; it was rather the other way about; but of this a little later. I have heard him on a famous occasion speak in Tamil, and effectively; and on several occasions in Tamil and English. I do not think however that he ever wrote seriously in Tamil, though he kept up, spasmodically, his interest in Tamil.

In 1919 our country was in a turmoil. Gandhiji had called for a boycott of courts and councils, and for mass civil disobedience. Obedience was in our blood as much as the red and white corpuscles were. We had been enjoined to bow down to the innumerable gods, to the priests, kings, chieftains, parents, elders of all degrees, and even to petty men in brief authority. Disobedience was so very new, and perhaps utterly wrong. A political conference was held at Tirunelveli, and S. Srinivasa Aiyangar, who had resigned his Advocate-Generalship, was presiding. Non-co-operation was the major theme. The president did a balanced survey, and managed some tight rope-walking. “Non-co-operation is difficult, but you are the descendants of Rishis” he said. However he advised non-co-operation. He spoke in English. So did Mrs. Besant who argued powerfully against it. The audience was dazed. C. P. got up to speak and began in English, but the audience shouted, “Tamil, Tamil.” He looked round, judged the temper of the audience, and, at once, and without any sign of impatience, switched on to North-Arcotian Tamil, with occasional Sanskrit and English words to lend support. He did not falter, or stumble, and drove his points home. The audience began to totter, though it had come with pre-formed ideas. His was a great speech, logical, thoughtful and reasoned. How V. S Srinivasa Sastri followed him, supporting him, and speaking in Tamil; and how S. Satyamurti spoke for the solution, and how ultimately the conference voted for ‘Non-co-operation,’ are matters of political history. Some believe still that country took the wrong turning then. But that C. P. could and did speak ably in Tamil is the point that I wish to emphasise here. He was more or less equipped by birth and some later training. I have written about this episode more than once, and so shall not dwell on it.

C. P. was as much interested in Tamil philosophy and religion, as in the language itself. On request, he wrote an Introduction in English to Sir Ponnambalam. Arunachalam’s translation of Tiruvacakaminto English. It shows that he had read the original, and had analysed its contents-acts requiring a good deal of mastery of the language, and of the philosophy of Manicka-vacaka, the inspired Saint. I am not trying to list, but only to illustrate.

Another instance to note is the speech which he made when he inaugurated the Kamban Memorial on 1st February 1959. A slightly condensed version of it can be seen in Essays on Kamban (pages 108 to 119) published by Bharati Tamil Sangam, Calcutta, in 1973. Here are a few quotations:

I am not a Tamil scholar, not one who is competent with any felicity and mastery in that language and its genius, to do justice to that great poet. On the other hand it so happened that after many wanderings outside the Tamil language, when I came to study it, it was Kamban's Ramayana that was my first objective. With a Tamil Dictionary, I studied it word by word. And so, I can claim to have studied Kamban’s work with meticulous care more than once, and as a humble student of that great poet, I possess some right to speak on this occasion.

He has applied his critical, analytic and synthetic mind to his study of Kamban, and a few remarks of his are quoted to show his depth, and the comparative nature of his study. Here are some quotations:

“Kamban has in his work, definitely made it (the Sarayu) a South Indian river. The scenery and ground are in no small extent, based upon South Indian atmosphere and environment...” (P. III)

“Above all, Kamban’s glory consists in this, that he has made a most moving human story of what in Valmiki is austere and stern. The verbal felicity, the alliterative mastery, and rhythmic tilt of Kamban’s poetry stamp it as one of the masterpieces of human art.” (Pp. 113-114)

“One of the things which may be remembered is that even in Sanskrit, there is not much which can be compared with certain aspects of Tamil literature and philosophy.

“In the Tamil land, there has always been a combination of a life fully lived combined with spiritual endeavour. War, love, agriculture, husbandry, and trade were given as importance which the northern classics do not ordinarily give.” (P.118)

C. P. did not confine himself to the middle period–to the Saints and Kamban. He kept himself up-to-date, and he wrote to me that he read my ‘Ten-tuli’at one sitting. He also helped me by writing an introduction to ‘X-rays’ (Eks.Katirikai–Tamil) a joint work of J. P. Manikkam and myself, which was awarded a first prize by the Madras University but could find nobody willing to publish it until the Madras Government through one of its agencies, ultimately did, twenty odd years later.

C. P. also went to Sangam literature (of about two millenia ago). He released at the Sastri Hall, Mylapore, gaily decorated with Konrai (laburnum) flowers, S. Rajam’s (less than costprice) edition of Akananuru, well edited, beautifully printed, and beautifully got-up. He made a memorable speech about ancient Sangam literature, of Rajam’s (nurray’s) great interest and work in it, and of the Tamil public’s general apathy to both. The situation is better now. Yet much more should be done. Rajam has spent lakhs of rupees on a plan of his for the preparation of “Historical Tamil Dictionary.” The preliminary work of preparing indexes of words (with their Contexts and their meanings) of the classics from the beginning up to the 14th century has been completed, separately for each work, and with master-indices. It is a stupendous piece of work, and one dedicated, and luckily a wealthy man, with a great deal of love and dedication, is doing it. At the time C. P. spoke Rajam’s literary volumes (about thirty) had been projected and were in various stages of preparation. But C. P.’s point that the Tamil classics should receive more attention from the public deserves thoughtful attention.

C. P. told me that he had written poetry in English and French. He said he would read his verses to me sometime; but it was an unfulfilled wish on his part, and an unrealised hope in mine. I hope his archives have them.

Rare combination of qualities

“One sure test of greatness is the combination of qualities rarely found together in a single individual. C. P. is as at home with abstract thought as with concrete reality such as a plan, a bridge or a housing scheme. He can sore high with a flight of poetic imagination or descend to the heart of dull, drab routine like looking after his luggage. He has equal mastery over the intricacies of a complex administrative problem as with organising a social function or a dinner party. A slokaof Kalidasa in the Raghuvamsaaptly describes him:

Hisintellect is equal to his personality,
His culture is worthy of his intellect,
His exertion is worthy of his culture,
And his success is worthy of his success.”
–K.BALASUBRAHMANYA AIYER