I am going to start this article with a little anecdote.
It is about the fashionable Che Guerra t-shirt. We all have seen it and
of course I met a cousin of mine who was flaunting it one fine day. Out of curiosity, I asked
him, “Brother do you know who this man on your vest is?” He said , “Ya they've
written his name there – Che Guerra”.. “Ok.. Who is Che Guerra?” "He is a
revolutionary” "Well, what kind of revolution did he do?” That became tough for him it seemed.. “Hmm..
he fought for communism.. Against USA perhaps” Perhaps! "You know where he
fought for communism?” “Well,that should be one among Russia, China or Cuba”.. O Ernesto Che Guerra, if you are up there and listening, better rest in peace! Well, I don't have any regrets with my brother's notion of Che. We live in an age where
we have revolutionised the very act of revolution. True, we get involved in
many revolutions against corruption, against injustice to women etc. We raise
our voice vehemently and fervently against social injustices! We change our facebook profile pictures!
And update status messages and say ‘I am a champion for this cause’
With this context, I am going to tell you about an old-school
revolutionary whom I adore and salute. This man is a lunatic, a visionary, an
outcast, and a poet – he lived amidst our forefathers in this very own city and
his name is Mr. Subramanya Bharathi! I came to know that the home in which he lived
has been converted to a memorial and it is still in Chennai. And I went there recently with some of my friends.
