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Not your property

There is nothing intellectual about intellectual property rights (IPRs).

Not your property

A war for words: The book is a riveting account of the battle over the copyright of the works of Mahakavi Bharati — the greatest Tamil poet of all time. In a first, the government eventually nationalised Bharati's legacy Photos courtesy: Juggernaut



Shastri Ramachandaran

There is nothing intellectual about intellectual property rights (IPRs). There never ever was even before the term “IPRs” gained currency.  A R Venkatachalapathy’s book, Who Owns That Song? on “The Battle for Subramania Bharati’s Copyright” shows that battles over intellectual property are like fights over any other property — about ownership for profit. And, like all such stories, the battle over the copyright of the works of Mahakavi Bharati — the greatest Tamil poet of all time — is a riveting account of family, poverty, greed, politics, government and court involved in the tussle between competing claimants for a priceless literary treasure. Eventually, public interest triumphed with government nationalising Bharati’s legacy — the first such case of government bowing to the popular mood by taking over intellectual property for making its use free.

This work of non-fiction is more thrilling than many an edge-of-the-seat fiction. It has a masterly storyline with unexpected twists and turns, a hero and villains, victims and valiant fighters and all the elements – rich vs poor, state vs individuals, government vs others and politics and business — that makes it unputdownable. It is a highly readable work of history, which is a rich tapestry woven with the threads of multiple histories — of politics, of India’s freedom struggle and of publishing in the Tamil region — framed with the life, works and the after-life of the great Tamil poet, journalist and writer Bharati. 

To begin with, as the book does, the story has a real-life historical ‘Dramatis Personae’ that, few star-studded narratives can rival. Venkatachalapathy introduces the cast with tongue firmly in cheek: Subramania Bharati — unsung poet, neglected in his life, attains posthumous fame, with his books remaining bestsellers till date; Chellamma — the poet’s widow, endures dire poverty after marriage to her eccentric husband, but does not get a penny when his works become a posthumous commercial success; C. Viswanathan — the poet’s half-brother, buys the copyright when the works have little commercial value … … but becomes the object of envy and popular agitation when he reaps unexpected windfalls, and later forced to give up his copyright at distress price; Jeshinglal Mehta — Gujarati businessman who invests in a poet despite being unable to read Tamil; A V Meiyappan — movie mogul and businessman who makes a calculated investment by buying the broadcast rights of the poet’s writings and faces adverse public opinion when he files a suit for infringement of rights; T K Shanmugam — the famous Tamil actor who is opposed to a businessman’s stranglehold over his favourite poet’s songs; P. Jeevanandam — communist agitator and admirer of the poet’s work which he takes to the masses; Omandur P Ramasamy Reddiar — peasant and Premier of Madras, who has the task of balancing popular demand with a private (intellectual) property issue; and, T S Avinashilingam Chettiar — education minister striving for “Bharati’s nationalisation”, cutting through the morass of legal issues and public opinion.

The introduction of the characters sets the stage and tells the bare bones of the story, the conclusion of which is known even before reading the Prologue, Copyright Claws. In spite the story’s ending — the nationalisation of Bharati’s entire literary output — being known, Venkatachalapathy keeps the reader hooked to the mystery of Bharati’s life and all that happened to his works in a racy style laced with humour, irony and wit.

He draws an unforgettable word portrait of Bharati as poet, writer, journalist, passionate nationalist, of his circumstances and as a man with a penchant for peculiarities in the way he groomed himself. The drama surrounding his works after his death, especially the tide of popular feelings that clamoured and agitated for free use of Bharati’s work is, perhaps, rare in the history of literature and intellectual property. From communists to ministers, Congressmen and Justice Party activists, Tamil scholars to public figures, large sections were part of the campaign for freeing Bharati from the grip of those who held the copyright to his work. 

Bharati was born in December 1882 — twenty-one years after Rabindranath Tagore and predeceased Tagore by 20 years (in September 1921). This book throws light on the little-known aspect of Bharati’s deep interest in Tagore, and his translation of some of Tagore’s work. It “is a remarkable story, where a great poet unbeknown to another great poet followed his work and paid generous tribute”. The two poets never met; neither when Bharati went to Calcutta nor when Tagore travelled to Madras. 

Bharati’s nationalisation, as Venkatachalapathy observes, is a “momentous saga”. The iconic poet, whose work stirred millions in his afterlife, lived and died in penury.  As the Epilogue’s endnote, records, “All said, Bharati’s hope that his books would be as ‘freely and easily available as kerosene and matchboxes’ has not been belied”. It would be surprising if a filmmaker does not take the plunge to bring alive on screen this story, which could be at once entertaining and instructive as a period film and a biopic.

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