His given name at birth was Muthiah. But when he made his exit from this world, at the age of 54, on October 16, 1981, millions of Tamils remembered him only by the name Kannadasan. For Tamils all over the world, he epitomised Tamil poetry. Even the illiterate, who couldn't read and memorise the poetry of Kamban or the maxims of Valluvan, could hum the compositions of poet Kannadasan.
A number count of his publications shows a tally of 109 volumes, which include 21 novels and 10 slim volumes of essays on Hinduism, captioned Arthamulla Indu Matham (Meaningful Hinduism). In addition, he produced about 4000 poems and approximately 5000 movie lyrics, between 1944 and 1981, all with an eighth grade education at the formal level. He was also an excellent example of this century's Tamil goliard.
What made Kannadasan click? There is no doubt that he had a penetrating eye and keen observational powers. He also did not live a cocoon-type of life. He dipped into everything that Tamil Nadu could offer - wine, women, drugs, gambling, politics, polemics, atheism and religious sanctuary. After enjoying everything, what he did was remarkable - he composed verses about all his experiences, with self depreciating humour and biting sarcasm. These verses touched the sympathetic chords of Tamils from all walks of life - school boys, undergrads, housewives, farmers, manual labourers, plantation workers, middle class representatives and even upper class elites.
He was at his best when he wrote lyrics on the philosophy of cycles of life. Let me reminisce on some of his most popular compositions in this column. It is a pity that Kannadasan's verses has not been translated into other languages yet. I have made an elementary effort here, while not attempting a literal translation.
KaNNa DhAsan's given name was A.L. MuthiAh. He was one of the most popular contemporary Thamizh poets. When he applied for his first job, the interviewer asked his name. Not willing to tell his real name, he said spontaneously that his name was KaNNa DhAsan, which stuck with him for the rest of his life.
Thanks mainly to his involvement in the field of cinema, he had been referred to as 'a folk poet of the masses' by Zvelebil (1995). Though this may be true, it does not do full justice to his literary genius and contribution to the Thamizh renaissance. He may be regarded as one of the pioneers of the new literary style, the puthuk kavithaikaL (புதுக்கவிதைகள்). He did have a checkered personal life and a public life full of controversy.
During his professional career as a Thamizh poet, he had spanned the entire gamut of political, social and religious ideologies. This is why one could observe such wide differences in his literary themes and philosophy depending upon at what point in his life the works were written. It is hardly possible to encounter any Thamizh poet whose interests ranged from over indulgence in the sensual pleasures of life, through social and political reformatory zeal to religious sublimation at the end.
The six volumes of KaNNa DhAsan KavithaikaL (கண்ணதாசன் கவிதைகள்) cover a variety of topics in which the social and political issues of the twentieth century are depicted with absolute frankness and in an extremely simple but stimulating manner. The first three volumes deal with his interactions with political peers and mentors such as PeriyAr E.V.rAmasAmi n^Aickar (பெரியார் இராமசாமி நாயக்கர்) and C.N.aNNAthurai (அண்ணாதுரை) and his involvement in the anti-Hindi movement. The other volumes give a completely different picture of the author, probably as the result of his own disillusionment with the establishment of the day. KaNNa DhAsan's literary works will be remembered by folks and elites for his appealing style and exposition of social issues, which unfortunately earned him as many enemies as friends. This disenchantment can also be discerned in his work from time to time.
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