September 11th, 2021, "Mahakavi Day," marked the death centenary of Indian national poet, C. Subramania Bharati (1882-1921).

Bharati, the greatest Tamil writer of the 20th century, is a legendary figure. He was a multifaceted personality - leading to the interesting situation that, even today, the full extent of the poet's artistic and intellectual contributions is not known. Much remains to be discovered!

This podcast episode deals with a lesser-known aspect of Bharati's creativity: the music that the poet composed for his own poems to be sung. While the words of Bharati's songs are well-known to the public, his melodies are not. When Indian classical musicians do sing his songs, they generally write their own melodies, or adapt them from versions popularized in the movies.

I discuss Bharati's musical contributions with a star of South India's classical music scene, percussion maestro Suresh Vaidyanathan. Suresh plays a uniquely fascinating traditional instrument, the ghatam – a clay pot.

Links:

Maestro Suresh's music teaching site, Ghatam Kulam, is available here. His interview and performance on ghatam with the Sandy Evans Trio was broadcast on Australian radio earlier this week, and is available here.

Music Credits:

Drums of India, Bickram Ghosh on Tabla and V. Suresh On Ghatam. Subscribe to Bickram Ghosh's YouTube channel.

Alice Munro, a Canadian writer who is considered a modern master of the short story form, was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 2013. She was 82 years old at the time, a formidable presence in Canadian letters, as described by Guy in this interview, and only one of a handful of women to have received this award. Her death in May of 2024 was a major event in world literature. In July, however, her daughter published an article in the Toronto Star revealing that she had been abused by Munro's husband - and that Munro was complicit in the abuse. Since then, the literary world has been grappling with this revelation. What does Andrea Skinner's story tell us about the world we live in and how it needs to change? This interview was recorded before Ms. Skinner published her story - but Guy presciently raised the difficult question of what to do when, as he says, "bad people are good writers."

Guy Vanderhaeghe has been a distinguished presence on the Canadian writing scene since he published his debut work in 1984, the short story collection Man Descending, which won Canada's prestigious Governor-General’s Award for Fiction. His latest book is the novel, August into Winter, published in 2021. But Guy is not only a writer: he is also a teacher who works regularly with aspiring writers. In part one of this colorful and richly detailed interview, Guy tells the inspiring story of his inexplicable passion for literature, the unusual background that he comes from in small-town Saskatchewan, how he sees the evolution of writing in the light of political and social change, and his insights on good writing for both writers and readers. He concludes on a darker note, turning to "cancel culture" and confronting the question of how to deal with "good writers" who may be "bad people" - the subject of the next part of this fascinating interview.

The identity of the most famous poet in the history of the English language is surprisingly uncertain. Shakespeare's works have survived to the present day, in large part thanks to the efforts of his fellow dramatists to publish a collected edition of his plays. The First Folio, as it is known, has just celebrated its 400th anniversary. In the meantime, however, details of the Bard's life have gradually faded into the past – and, today, significant uncertainty surrounds his biography. Given this situation, why are scholars so reluctant to delve into the past, and why should they fear potentially unmasking Shakespeare as we know him? Journalist and book critic Elizabeth Winkler has devoted a book to this subject. Not only does she ask who Shakespeare was, but, just as importantly, she wonders why asking this question is so controversial. This episode examines identity, history, and truth at a time when the rise of artificial intelligence brings a new urgency to these questions.

In 1787, Robert Burns, Scotland's national bard, met Agnes Maclehose, the woman who may have been the great love of his life. The two adopted pen names in a series of letters to each other - Sylvander and Clarinda - and Burns finally said his poetic farewell to Clarinda in a poem that remains a popular song today, "Ae Fond Kiss." But the letters turned up in court in 1804.

In part two of this interview with Scottish lawyer and historian Hector MacQueen, Hector explains the fascinating new legal doctrine which ultimately allowed the pursuers to succeed in restraining publication of the letters in Scotland. But the legal remedy came too late to keep the letters truly private. They were widely published in other countries, including Ireland and the United States, and in London. From 1820, as Hector notes, the letters were once again published in Scotland - "the matter of family scandal and shame" having "become one for family pride" with the spectacular growth of the poet's fame after his death.

Special music credits:

With the kind permission of Karen Matheson, this episode features her rendition of "Ae Fond Kiss" with Robert Brady.

Robert Burns, Scotland's national bard, was perhaps as famous for his love affairs as for his extraordinary poetry. In 1787, he met the woman who may have been the great love of his life. Her name was Agnes Maclehose - and she was already married, though separated, ensuring that this liaison would be scandalous in all respects. The lovers adopted pen names to write to each other - Sylvander and Clarinda - and Burns finally said his poetic farewell to Clarinda in a poem that remains a popular song today, "Ae Fond Kiss." But the letters turned up in court in 1804. Burns had died; Clarinda was alive, and vulnerable, as ever, to scandal. Her uncle was among the judges hearing the matter. In part one of this interview with Scottish lawyer and historian, Hector MacQueen, Hector brings this passionate and dramatic story to life, explaining how he came to be fascinated by this timeless romance, and by the legal case that ultimately followed.

Special music credits:

With the kind permission of Karen Matheson, this episode features her rendition of "Ae Fond Kiss" with Robert Brady.

Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915), an innovative and cosmopolitan pianist-composer from turn-of-the-century Russia, is a fascinating and mysterious figure. A close friend of Rachmaninoff, the two musicians studied together at the Moscow Conservatory, but Scriabin quickly discovered his own, distinctive path. The composer drew his broad and eclectic literary, aesthetic, and philosophical ideas from many sources, but a deep interest in Indian philosophy was foremost among them. This is undoubtedly part of the reason why he is so misunderstood, and sometimes even denigrated today: he was inspired by ideas that are unfortunately inaccessible and even unknown to many in the West.

As is apparent in this extraordinary commentary by Simon Nicholls, these reactions do a great injustice to the composer. With his colleague, Michael Pushkin, Simon has translated Scriabin's own writings into English for a new book, The Notebooks of Alexander Skryabin. To understand Scriabin, Simon exhorts us to turn to the composer's own words. They reveal, not only one of the great luminaries of our musical past, but also an artist with a profound and sincere desire to uplift his fellow human beings. Dare to be free, his music seems to say - dare to dream and think differently! An episode about a great composer and musician, and an inspiring non-conformist.

Special music credits:

This episode features excerpts from Scriabin's second piano sonata ("Sonata-Fantasy," Opus 19), performed by Vladimir Sofronitsky.