Who Owns That Song? The Battle for Subramania Bharati’s Copyright

sometimes I read non-fiction, sometimes it is good

This book follows the intriguing journey of copyright battle for Subramania Bharati's works between the government and the various stakeholders. Subramania Bharati is a stalwart of Tamil literature and is regarded as Mahakavi (Great poet). He was a pioneer and brought a wave of change in Tamil literature by adopting different styles like haiku. He took an active part in Swadeshi movement and his songs and poems were used heavily during India freedom struggle. Bharati often lamented regarding the lack of good publishing services and his dream was that his books should be so low priced that it can reach the masses. Bharati died at the young age of 39. Most of his life he led in abject poverty. It was posthumously that a huge demand was made to make Bharati's work available in the public domain. The structuring of this book has been done very well. The prologue gives us a sneak peek into Bharthi life which is useful for someone who is not acquainted with his works and Tamil literature. The author then talks about the copyright process in the literary world which helps us understand why this copyright battle was a landmark event that one should know.

Fantastic story, excellently told.

I grew up seeing that one photo of Bharathiyar (white turban, handlebar mustache, piercing eyes) in every family member’s house in India whenever I visited. I never knew much about him until a few years ago when I started looking for English translations of his writing - there are almost NONE. I didn’t realize how dramatic the backstory was to even get his writing published in Tamil, and how many cooks there were (there were so many people that it was sometimes hard to keep up) who tried to profit off of his work. Such a wild story.

Chalapathy is so cute! His old anglophile Indian uncle turn of phrase, his Tamil chauvinism (any nationalism and all chauvinisms are seldom adorable), and his absolute surrender before Bharati (so much that he does not think twice before being hagiographic about him!) - there is some magnetism to all of these. And, he is one historian who really reminds us what this craft, this trade has always been about: the love for stories, the wish to uncover them, and the obsession with the otherwise boring task of keeping one's head down and eyes firmly at the documents that one needs to read. And he does all of these with impeccable flair. Hundreds of documents - but the book reads like a film, as if someone recorded these moments are they are. Without gaps. Without lapses.

“Who owns that song “explores the copyright struggles and the journey to subsequently nationalize Mahakavi Bharathiyar’s works. The book reads like a research paper although an interesting and page turning one. It is separated in to three sections focusing on the poets life, the copyright journey and post nationalization of bharathi’s works. The first section is the most heartbreaking of them all. for all his greatness Bharathi was never given his due during his time. It was hard to relive what the poet’s last few years were like, in penury but still full of hope. Inspite of nationalization his family hasn’t reaped any benefits from his path breaking contribution to tamizh literature The copyright journey is utterly fascinating. The hands it exchanges and the motive behind them all is very interesting . Bharathi’s work was nationalized way before Tagore or Sarojini Devi’s thanks to political and literary activism of the era. This book delves deep in to that activism and their repercussions. Great read and way too many facts that one would have to read this a few times to record them in memory

A poet who has created fire with his pen. The writer who made the British lose their sleep. He created violent protest without physically hurting anyone, through his words. Nonetheless his work didn't get the prior appreciation during his lifetime. The irony of his life is that the same work lit up ferocious arguments and controversies. Author has crafted an iconic piece on the life of the legendary poet. How author has seamlessly connected each incident is commendable. The book starts with how Bharati has expressed radicalism through words and the further incidents which resulted in his exile and arrest. His wife who has played a crucial role in nationalization knowingly or unknowingly. Further the authors desperation in getting the fame and recognition and the disappointment in failing to do so has been portrayed without prejudice. For a story as his, there is a lot of possibility for the narrator to be prejudiced. Nonetheless, author has balanced his view regarding Subramaniya Bharati's life. Author has given a glimpse to the background of each person who had become a part of the nationalization. A detailed research was invested for the book and the readers would be engrossed to read the controversy which is dramatically sketched. Mayyapan and Chellama deserves special mention. Apparently, the author has pulled off a biography in the background of the whole nationalisation controversy for Bharat's life means hid writings

Product details Hardcover: 216 pages Publisher: Juggernaut (15 May 2018) Language: English ISBN-10: 938622867X ISBN-13: 978-9386228673 Package Dimensions: 22 x 15 x 2.8 cm The Past Is Past (Sendrathini meelaathu moodare by Subramania Bharati translated by M.L.Thangappa) The past is past, you fools! It never comes back. Why cling to its vestiges. And pine for the dead memories Living in endless hankerings And fretting yourself to death? Let bygones be gone. Feel intensely. That you are fresh born This very day. Eat and drink and be merry Have a song at heart All your ills Will Wither away. What is this book all about? Subramanian Bharati is the the greatest poets of South India. He is one of the poets who did not receive recognition initially and went on to receive recognition later on. Born in December 1882 Bharati dedicated his life by penning down lot of poems, journals and novels. He worked as a journalist with many journals and publishers including The Hindu. He passed away at the age of 39 due to poverty. His unlettered young widow, Chellamma sold his works to his half brother. In the wake of freedom struggle,along with the music boom launched by gramophone records and the rise of talkies, Bharati’s songs became commercially valuable.After a series of legal wrangles, Bharati’s poems were put in public domain in 1949. Review The language is simple and easy to understand. I have learnt many things about the poet and Indian history. The poems were the best part and I absolutely loved it. It makes me feel sad that great poets like him are not recognized and it takes ages for them to get recognized. The thing which I disliked about this book is that it looked more like a text book read. It also had too many characters with every chapter which irked me the most. Verdict I always have the urge to know more about the Indian history and this is one of the books which I have liked and enjoyed. If you love Indian History then this is one book which I would recommend to everyone. Rating:4*/5

About the #book: To be really honest, this was the first time I ever came across C. #Subramania Bharati through #whoownsthatsong. Bharati was a renowned #poet, #writer, columnist, essayist and translator (voluntarily for Rabindra Nath Tagore’s works to Tamil). After whom the very famous #Balabharti and many other magazines and #texts are published, many places and monuments are named. His #story is no less than tragic and worth reading for all of us #Indians. He was indeed one of the first few unsung freedom fighters. Or well sung only posthumously. I came to know about a tonnes of things after reading this book which I feel is very satisfying because being a north Indian I wasn’t really aware about him and many others who privileged #India and it’s existence in one way or the other. This book begins with introduction about copyright and then gradually paces up by detailing about Bharati’s life. It is a mini #biography of sorts. It tells how resilient and thoughtful Bharati was. He was definitely ahead of his age and didn’t ever shy away From voicing his opinions no matter how thick a soup it May push him into. The book talks about his devoted wife and two daughters who ate nothing but dust at the hands of faith. They couldn’t even receive royalty for their husband and father’s (resp.) works where as they deserved it more than anyone else and were given a reward of meagre amount only after Asking for a compensation. Bharati died in poverty, not knowing that he will become a propellor of a #literary movement in modern history but he made sure he kept on writing even when he couldn’t support himself and his family financially. The role of government, his family and other collective elements that influenced this first of a kind nationalisation are mentioned beautifully. What I did not like in the book were too much details about people who initiated or took part in nationalisation of his works either for personal gains or for the sake of literary and Bharati enthusiasts (for the non tamil readers, as said by the author in epilogue). I skipped those lines altogether. About the author: #arvenkatachalapathy is a tamil historian, writer, and scholar.

A.R. Venkatachalapthy’s new book “Who Owns That Song: The Battle for Subramania Bharati’s Copyright” chronicles the journey of Bharati’s life as a writer and the subsequent legal quandary that eventually lead to the nationalisation of his works. The book is divided into 4 breviloquent chapters and has a selected few poems of Subramania Bharati translated by M.L.Thangappa at the end. The book draws a meticulous potrayal of events that happened during and after the poet’s life. The author’s fluid and engaging words keep the book a real page turner and he doesn’t shy away from sprinkling his academic finess educating the reader all along. He uniquely takes forward the non fiction which picks up pace once the legal tussle begins. The book, eventhough teeming with details about numerous characters, never once appears insipid or vapid. This insightful book will be an eye opener for all the people to know more about the national poet who died in obscurity without knowing his writings would live to kindle spirits even after decades of his death. Do read this amazing book.

Subramania Bharati is considered to be one of the greatest poet of India who fueled the freedom struggle through his vibrant patriotic songs. His writings, poems, songs etc. got nationalised even before his contemporary Rabindrabath Tagore. This book deals with the circumstances which led to the Madras government takeover of Mahakavi Bharati's work and the entire procedure. The chunk part of the book is about this. There are many repititives which could have been avoided for a crisp read. Also I wished to read more about Bharati, greatness and uniqueness of his writing. Little has been written in this context. The author, towards the end, has included a few of his translated poems which were of such deep meaning especially the first one titled The Past Is Past.

புத்தகம் : பாரதி: கவிஞனும் காப்புரிமையும் எழுத்தாளர் : ஆ.இரா.வேங்கடாசலபதி பதிப்பகம் : காலச்சிவடு பதிப்பகம் பக்கங்கள் : 151 நூலங்காடி : ஈரோடு புத்தகக் கண்காட்சி 2022 விலை : 158 🔆சுதந்திர போரட்டத்தில் பெரும் பங்கு ஆற்றிய பலருள் நமது பாரதியும் ஒருவர். அவர் தன் காலத்தில் எழுதிய எழுத்துகள் பெரும்பாலும் , தனது சொந்த செலவிலேயே அவர் வெளியிட்டது தான். அதனால் எந்த பதிப்பகத்தின் உரிமையும் இல்லாது இருந்த்து . 🔆பொருளாதார சிக்கல்கள் காரணமாக அவர்கள் குடும்பம் அவரது எழுத்துகளை, முறையாக ஒரு பதிப்பகம் தொடங்க வெளியிட நினைத்தனர். 🔆அதே நேரத்தில் , பாரதியாரின் பாடல்களை தாங்கள் நடத்தும் நாடகங்களில் பலர் பயன்படுத்திக் கொண்டிருந்தனர். தமிழ் சினிமாவில் பல நல்ல திரைப்படங்களை தயாரித்த ஏ.வி.மெய்யப்ப செட்டியார் அவர்கள், பாரதியாரின் பாடல்களுக்கு காப்புரிமை பெற்றிருந்தார். நாடகங்களுக்கு பாரதியாரின் பாடல்களை பயன்படுத்தின் கூடாதென்று அவர் வழக்கு தொடர்ந்தார். 🔆அப்போது ஓமந்தூர் தலைமையிலான ஆட்சி நடந்துக் கொண்டிருந்தது . பாரதியாரின் நூல்களை நாட்டுடைமை ஆக்க வேண்டும் என்ற கோரிக்கை வலுப்பெற்றது. சிக்கல்களுக்கு பிறகு அதை செயல்படுத்தினர். 🔆அந்த சிக்கல்கள் தான் பாரதி : கவிஞனும் காப்புரிமையும் . 🔆தமிழ் புத்தகங்கள் வாசிக்கும் பலர் வீட்டில் பாரதியார் புத்தகங்கள் இருக்கும் . பல்வேறு பதிப்பகத்தில் , பல்வேறு விலையில் . அதற்கு பின்னால் இருக்கும் வலிகளையும் , அரசியலையும் புரிந்து கொள்ள இந்த புத்தகம் மிக அவசியம் . புத்தகங்களை படிப்போம் , பயன் பெறுவோம், புத்தகங்களால் இணைவோம் , பல வேடிக்கை மனிதரைப் போலே , நான் வீழ்வேனென்று நினைத்தாயோ – மகாகவி சுபஸ்ரீனீ முத்துப்பாண்டி வாசிப்பை நேசிப்போம்

C. Subramania Bharati is a renowned Tamilian poet whose works spoke of nationalist sentiments and paved the way for the future of poetry in Tamil Nadu. Who Owns That Song? chronicles his journey as an artist and how his works changed hands a few times before finally being released by the government into the public domain, free of any copyright claim. A.R. Venkatachalapathy's nonfiction also introduces us to the early stages of the media industry in India. Having studied about copyright in class, I was really interested in understanding the role of copyright in the consumption of a piece of creative work. Divided into 4 concise chapters, this book tells us about Subramania Bharati's life as a writer and then proceeds to recount events concerning the publication of his works. The writing style takes on the tone required in a nonfiction and yet possesses the quality of being fluid and engaging. As I was reading this book, I often felt myself light up with pride on learning just how passionate he was about writing and how much he contributed to society with his writings. At the end, you'll find some of his poems and I loved them! What I didn't like much about the book is that I felt it clubbed together the stories of too many people involved in the process. Of course I understand that it is important to know the role they played in either purchasing the rights to Bharati's works or striving to make them copyright free, but every chapter was further divided into sections about these people. At times, it felt a little textbook-ish because of the amount of details packed into a page. That said, this book begets the question of whether an individual's work (regardless of the subject matter and how much of an influence it has on society) should ever really be dropped into the public domain for people to make use of as they wish. And also, should any one person unrelated to the artist be allowed to own the rights to the artist's works? Shouldn't it naturally be passed down generation after generation as heritage? The character of Bharati as portrayed in this book is one of an intellectual man. I wonder what he would think of all the tug of wars that took place. Who Owns That Song? is definitely a very insightful read and I would recommend to all! Ratings - 3.5 out of 5 stars What do you get out of it? Knowledge about C. Subramania Bharati as a writer and how his writings underwent copyright battles before finally being declared public property. Thank you Juggernaut Books for sending me a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.