 Bharathiyar and Triplicane
 It was on Marina Beach that the great Tamil Poet Bharathiyar must have sung most of his songs. Without the enchantment of its beauty, how could the song "Suttum Vizhi Chudarthan" have been possible?
Bharathiyar used to wear a coat and turban. He spent the last years of his brief life in a small and humble house. There is no street or lane in Triplicane that Bharathiyar did not walk on. Living on Thulasinga Perumal Koil Street (or T P Koil St, as it is known to this day), he probably walked to any place he wished to go to in Chennai, as there is hardly any mention of vehicles in his works.
 In Triplicane, there are two big symbols of religious orthodoxy. One is the Parthasarathi Swami Temple and the other the Big Mosque. The temple is so ancient that it finds mention in the Alwars' songs. How many millions of devotees have prayed at the Lotus Feet of the Lord! On "Vaikunta Ekadasi" day, throngs of devotees brave chill, foggy weather, waiting for the pre-dawn opening of the "Sorga Vaasal" (The "Sorga Vaasal" is a door in Vishnu temples, believed to be the gateway to "Vaikuntam", the abode of Lord Vishnu, which is opened only once a year). Bharathiyar didn't wait for the opening of this door. A temple elephant trampled on him and soon after he suffered a bad attack of diarrhoea. He died on September 12, 1921 at 1.30 a.m. The house in which he spent his last days has been converted into a memorial and is maintained by the Government.
Let us scan Chennai again…
Ashokamitran
(Translated by Sujatha Pradeep)
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