Celebrating 50 Years of CHYK with ‘Bharathi Yaar?’

In celebration of 50 years of Chinmaya Yuva Kendra (CHYK), CHYK Coimbatore organised a mega stage show on Subramania Bharathi titled ‘Bharathi Yaar?’. The play, chronicling the many facets of Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi's life and personality, was held on 12 July 2025 at the prestigious A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Auditorium at Hindusthan College. The guests included Swamini Vimalananda, Swami Mitrananda, Swami Anukoolananda, Dr. Menaka and Sri K. Annamalai. Each of the eminent speakers shared enlightening words about Bharathiar and highlighted certain facets of the Mahakavi’s life. A brilliant audio-visual extravaganza on the Mahakavi was then presented by the students, coordinated by CHYK Coimbatore.The play depicted Bharathiar’s multi-faceted personality, a polymath who was born and lived in Tamil Nadu. He was a prodigy who composed poems and prose in Tamil and many other languages. A firebrand patriot, he was also a social reformer who worked to address social inequalities in practice during his short life of 39 years. The play brought into focus his various personality traits, his journey of discovering himself and his impact on society.Bharathi was a freedom fighter, a patriot who lived for and strove to see his beloved Bharat free from the British. The Bharathi who played a key role in the freedom movement in southern India was captured in a remarkable and soul-stirring display of freedom fighters marching behind an effulgent Bharathi. His various escapades with the British were also captured..The play beautifully showed how Bharathi loved his country dearly and respected people of all countries, nationalities, and those speaking different languages, by his appreciation for South African musicians who had composed and performed his songs in English. He also had disdain for Indian youngsters who came back from England having learnt only the Victorian subjects, with no understanding of the culture and ethos of being a Bharatiya. He did not shy away from other languages, as it helped him enjoy literature written in a multitude of languages, increasing his worldview.We witness the Bharathi who was awakened after meeting Sister Nivedita, Swami Vivekananda’s disciple, to consider and give equal prominence to women in a society that was quite narrow-minded. This led to him raising the issue of equal rights in various forums. It was an important step in the evolution of Bharathi’s thinking. This was also demonstrated in his being open to listening to all and deciding on the merit of the argument without being biased by caste, creed or age of people..Another version of the Bharathi is the one who was introduced to the path of spiritual enlightenment by Sri Aurobindo. In a meeting where Aurobindo ignites the fire in Bharathi to look inward and become aware of the many wiles of Maya, and look to achieve true freedom, not limited to national freedom, but a freedom of self from attachments.The Bharathi, who was caught in the web of Maya and who, with guidance from various spiritual masters like Sister Nivedita, Sri Aurobindo and other swamis, broke the bindings of desire to move higher up in the journey of spiritual enlightenment, was the key theme of the play.The play ended by showcasing various Bharathis giving out a strong message that each one of us should awaken the Bharathi within us, to achieve more, to be fearless, to be non-discriminatory in our thoughts, to break down mental barriers erected by us and to be true custodians of the ethos of being a Bharatiya.The entire enthusiastic crew of 85 actors comprising students from Chinmaya Vidyalaya and other schools, and the multitude of supporting casts trained by a highly experienced team from Chinmaya Mission Chennai, did a fantastic job of rekindling the fire within the hearts of the audience, mainly youth and eminent personalities, leaving all with the question ‘Bharathi Yaar?’

Celebrating 50 Years of CHYK with ‘Bharathi Yaar?’

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