An independent India now had the power to honor those that came before that fought for what later had been achieved. The question then becomes is it all what it was supposed to be. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
The aesthetics of this stamp just do not work to western eyes. Perhaps that is the point. Subramania styled himself as a Sikh despite being a Tamil. It was the time of the British Raj and perhaps appearing threatening to that was an important point to make.
Todays stamp is issue A138, a 15 Naye Paise stamp issued by the Republic of India on September 11, 1960. It was a single stamp issue honoring Subramania Bharati. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 50 cents whether it is mint or used.
Subramania was born in Madras in 1882. At an early age he displayed a flare for linguistics and music and already at age 11 his learning was such that he was granted the title of Bharati. He was of the highest Indian caste, the Brahmin, who are the priests and the teachers. Though he did not believe in the caste system and took the progressive Sister Nivedita as his guru. She was an Irish convert who did much to bring Indian mysticism and yoga to the west.
He worked for a series of newspapers and journals where he was able to publish his poetry and expound on subjects far and wide. He wrote in a simpler style than those that came before and included music that promoted patriotism toward the idea of an independent, united Indian state that was not ruled by Britain but included Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon. Over time he became involved in the political movement toward independence. The independence movement was divided along lines of how many ties to Britain should be cut and whether violence was acceptable in achieving it.
Subramania aligned himself with Tilak, a leader that promoted violent change and as a result had to try to promote his ideas from a jail in Burma. Subramania himself did not participate in violence against the British but his articles promoted it. To avoid jail himself he moved for several years to the then French controlled Indian city of Pondicherry where he continued to practice his journalism.
At the end of World War I, Subramania returned to Madras but was quickly arrested. Though the British released him after 3 weeks, his situation took a turn for the worst. He was by now beset with poverty and his health declined. He was then struck by an elephant, and not able to recover, he died shortly after at age 39.
Among Subramania many works was the poem “Achamillai Achsmillai” Translated to English the lyrics translate to
Let the Sky Fall
Let it crumble
We will stand tall, together
These are also the lyrics to Adele’s theme song to the 2012 James Bond movie “Skyfall”. It is short and in another language so I don’t think there is any plagiarism involved. Remember though that both Adele and Subramania were trying to imagine life after the collapse of a British institution, whether the British Raj or MI6.
Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast Adele, as now I have that song stuck in my head. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.