The Non-Violent Kalki of Modern India

A journalist, a singer, a film producer and a freedom fighter, his persona has as many shades as we try to find. The man behind M.S. Subbalakshmi who lent her with relentless support, here’s how Thiagarajan Sadasivam left a beautiful legacy behind him.

Thiagarajan Sadasivam was a man of varied interests fueled by the need to make better changes in the society; Image Source: Veethi.com

A radical in his young days with heated rage against the colonial rule of the British in India, he aspired to uproot the British Raaj by sacrificing his life to the cause of independence of India. He left school at the age of 15, despite the difficulties his family was facing to make the ends meet. Thiagarajan Sadasivam is also known as Kalki Sadasivam was a devout radical as a teen, who aspired to shoot the British men in power as a mark of intolerance towards colonial exploitation. He drew his inspiration from the fiery speeches by the then revolutionaries like Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai, Aurobindo Ghosh and Lokmanya Tilak. But as the young blood started to cool off, he came in contact with Mahatma Gandhi and C. Rajagopalachari who influenced him to join hands with satyagrahis and non-violent methods of resistance in the 1920s. Their influence was such on him, that he started campaigning for the Khadi and Swadeshi movement!

With time he laid his hands at revolutionary writing, fanning the nationalist spirit. In 1941, he along with Kalki Krishnamurthy founded Kalki Tamil, a weekly magazine in Chennai of their own. It covered historic novels, classical music critiques, and other socially eminent figures their contributions and deeds.

Tamil region in those times was quite active in the quest for independence, and revival of Indian culture was making its way into the hearts of people. T. Sadasivam was also a revivalist in those terms and went on to produce and direct movies, with artistic flair. The movies like, Sakuntalai and Meera had Sadasivam’s visionary combined with K. Krishnamurthy and Ellis R. Dungan’s direction. Interestingly, these movies also starred M S Subbalakshmi, the renowned Carnatic classical singer as the main lead.

Thiagarajan Sadasivam married Subbalakshmi and they both, emerged out as the power couple who left no stone unturned to position the classical music and its richness at international level. India witnessed many proud moments when Subbalakshmi graced the stage with her presence. It isn’t not known to many that Sadasivam was also a classical music enthusiast but he left singing after getting married.

In an interesting event, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, C.N. Annadurai paid a visit to Kalki weekly’s office and met T. Sadasivam. After a hearty conversation, he requested him, if he could sing him a Bharati song. The request was politely rejected by him as he stated, “I stopped singing after marrying Subbalakshmi.”

With age, he contracted pneumonia, and he succumbed to it. At the age of 95, he left the world with his legacy of revolutionary ideals. Prime Minister I.K. Gujral, P. Chidambaram, M. Karunanidhi and former President R. Venkataraman were among those who visited to pay him respect in the last rituals in his native place. T. Sadasivam was a man of such wisdom that his last rites were largely covered by media with grieving people across the nation. He shall be remembered forever.

T Sadasivam and M S Subbalskshmi's marriage photo; Image Source: Public Domain