Similes in Bharathidasan’s Poems: A Tholkappiyam Perspective

பாரதிதாசன் கவிதைகளில் உவமைகள்: ஒரு தொல்காப்பியப் பார்வை

Abstract

The poet Bharathidasan, hailed as the “Revolutionary Poet,” expressed social reform and revolutionary ideas through his writings. His real name was Kanagasubburathinam. He studied at a French-medium school during his childhood but spent most of his learning years in a Tamil school. By the age of sixteen, he appeared for the Tamil scholar examination at college and, owing to his dedication and skill in the Tamil language, passed the examination in just two years—the first to do so in his college. At eighteen, recognizing his talent, a distinguished statesman appointed him as a Tamil lecturer at a government college (Bharathidasan, 1990:9). This article examines the use of similes (uvamai) in Bharathidasan’s poems through the lens of Tholkappiyam, highlighting how classical Tamil literary techniques are employed to convey social and cultural messages.