Do you know about a Muslim Tamil poet from the Kongu region who penned two books of psalms on the Hindu literary characters as Arichandra Natakam and Thiruneelakandar Natakam?
Coimbatore: Today is an era of liars, where a person who likes to speak only the truth is nicknamed 'Hari Chandra', a character known for his truthfulness in a piece of Hindu literature.
However, following some bitter incidents of religious discord including the lynching of a Muslim man, accused of eating beef and the cancellation of a Pakistani Ghazal singer's concert a few years ago, it is surprising to discover that a yesteryear Muslim Tamil poet from the Kongu region penned two books of psalms on the Hindu literary characters as Arichandra Natakam and Thiruneelakandar Natakam.
Reminding the present world of a poverty-stricken writer, a rich philanthropist, and a well-of publisher, the Muslim poet wrote a long verse, seeking financial assistance to get his manuscripts of the Hindu literature printed.
Hailing from Jambai in Erode of the yesteryear undivided Coimbatore, the bard, popularly known as 'Jambai Kasim Pulavar', praises the Hindu piece of literature Harischandra in his poem as a kind of work beyond comparison.
A visually-challenged man, Kasim introduces himself thus in the poem:
Hailing from a Muslim family in Jambai
I am the son of Muhammed Kani
A blind man, called Kasim.
Expressing his humility to the world of Tamil intellectuals, Kasim pulavar writes that in his 'dark' world that he had no natural opportunity to read the celebrated works on Tamil grammar including Yaaparunkalakarikai, a book on Tamil prosody penned by Amrithasakarar and Nannool, authored by Bhavananthi Munivar, a simplified version of the Tolkapiyam, a classical Tamil treatise. An admirer of Tamil being a rich corpus of vocabulary, the vision-impaired Muslim poet expresses his disappointment that he had little chance to refer to the Nigandu (A Tamil thesaurus in verse providing words in alphabetical order) or Agarathis ( Dictionaries).
Still, praising the virtues in the piece ofHindu literature, the Muslim bard sought the financial help of the wealthy and got his Arichandra Natakam published.
When many are expressing concern over the increasing number of people taking to drinking, it is surprising that Kasim pulavar wrote even a verse on how one's addiction to liquor leaves his family in abject poverty.
Kasim pulavar also penned two other collections of poems on the titles Peruvella Thanga Sindhu and Peruvella Nondi Sindhu on the flooding of river Bhavani on July 4, 1901, which played havoc on the people living in the villages on the river bank.
In a modern age, where a selfish man turns a blind eye even to a visually-challenged alms seeker while awaiting the green signal from the traffic light at crossroads, the vision-impaired Kasim Pulavar writes about how the raging flood waters devastated the villages and wants to share his sympathy for the flood victims from different socio-economic strata.
However, following some bitter incidents of religious discord including the lynching of a Muslim man, accused of eating beef and the cancellation of a Pakistani Ghazal singer's concert a few years ago, it is surprising to discover that a yesteryear Muslim Tamil poet from the Kongu region penned two books of psalms on the Hindu literary characters as Arichandra Natakam and Thiruneelakandar Natakam.
Reminding the present world of a poverty-stricken writer, a rich philanthropist, and a well-of publisher, the Muslim poet wrote a long verse, seeking financial assistance to get his manuscripts of the Hindu literature printed.
Hailing from Jambai in Erode of the yesteryear undivided Coimbatore, the bard, popularly known as 'Jambai Kasim Pulavar', praises the Hindu piece of literature Harischandra in his poem as a kind of work beyond comparison.
A visually-challenged man, Kasim introduces himself thus in the poem:
Hailing from a Muslim family in Jambai
I am the son of Muhammed Kani
A blind man, called Kasim.
Expressing his humility to the world of Tamil intellectuals, Kasim pulavar writes that in his 'dark' world that he had no natural opportunity to read the celebrated works on Tamil grammar including Yaaparunkalakarikai, a book on Tamil prosody penned by Amrithasakarar and Nannool, authored by Bhavananthi Munivar, a simplified version of the Tolkapiyam, a classical Tamil treatise. An admirer of Tamil being a rich corpus of vocabulary, the vision-impaired Muslim poet expresses his disappointment that he had little chance to refer to the Nigandu (A Tamil thesaurus in verse providing words in alphabetical order) or Agarathis ( Dictionaries).
Still, praising the virtues in the piece ofHindu literature, the Muslim bard sought the financial help of the wealthy and got his Arichandra Natakam published.
When many are expressing concern over the increasing number of people taking to drinking, it is surprising that Kasim pulavar wrote even a verse on how one's addiction to liquor leaves his family in abject poverty.
Kasim pulavar also penned two other collections of poems on the titles Peruvella Thanga Sindhu and Peruvella Nondi Sindhu on the flooding of river Bhavani on July 4, 1901, which played havoc on the people living in the villages on the river bank.
In a modern age, where a selfish man turns a blind eye even to a visually-challenged alms seeker while awaiting the green signal from the traffic light at crossroads, the vision-impaired Kasim Pulavar writes about how the raging flood waters devastated the villages and wants to share his sympathy for the flood victims from different socio-economic strata.