The Coming Age

C. Subramania Bharati (Author)
C. SUBRAMANIA BHARATI (1882-1921) is considered the leading writer of the twentieth century in the Tamil language and is known to Tamils as the 'Mahakavi' ('Supreme Poet'). He was a nationalist who fought against British rule in India and a social reformer who advocated passionately for women's equality and the eradication of caste. His writings were proscribed by the British government and he lived in exile in the French Indian territory of Pondicherry for more than a decade. Bharati's innovative contributions to Tamil poetry and prose are considered to have sparked a Renaissance in twentieth-century Tamil literature.

Mira T. Sundara Rajan (Author)
MIRA T. SUNDARA RAJAN is a writer, a classical pianist, and a scholar and professor who holds a doctorate in law from Oxford University. A Canadian citizen by birth, she is fluent in English and French and has read both literatures extensively. She is the daughter of Bharati scholar S. Vijaya Bharati, and a great-granddaughter of Mahakavi Bharati.

C. Subramania Bharati (1882-1921) has an unrivalled reputation in twentieth-century Tamil literature and has come to be known as the Tamil 'Mahakavi', meaning 'Supreme Poet'. His work as a poet and prose-writer ignited a Renaissance in modern Tamil writing. However, he also wrote and published regularly in English.
The Coming Age brings together Bharati's important English writings in an authoritative and reliable edition presented by his great-granddaughter. The pieces in this volume reveal a well informed and cosmopolitan writer, engaging with the world around him, passionately sharing his opinions.
Exploring Indian history and culture, offering a shattering contemporary view of the colonial experience, commenting on political events, advocating for women's rights and caste equality, and sharing his deep knowledge of the Tamil language and literary tradition, these pieces present Bharati in a new light for a new generation.