About Chithrakavyam


Chitrakavyam was written about 100 years ago in grantha lipi by Sri Ramabadrachariar. This work comprised of two parichchedas or parts, the first one made of 400 slokas and the second of 100 Bandams. His grandson, Sri. S. R. Srinivasa Raghavan of Bombay made these handwritten manuscripts available to Sri. P. K. Srinivasan and Sri. K. Sampath. This enabled my father and uncle to transliterate and publish the work. This book is full of puzzles, riddles and crosswords in "poem form." Many such poems are intended to for and capable of being embedded in pictures.

Sri. Sundapalayam Ramabhadrachariar

Also known as Sri. Ramabadra Kavi, he was born in 1840 in the village of Sundapalayam, near Coimbatore.
Hailing from a well educated family, he enriched his knowledge by constantly interacting with scholars
and pandits who visted his family.He had authored over 20 such works through out his life. In spite of his fame, he led a very simple and orthodox life. He died in 1904 at the age of 65.

Sri. P. K. Srinivasan B.Sc

My father was always very much into Sanskrit and Carnatics music. Even though he retired from Government of India in 1982 after a hectic service, he was more busier reading and researching his pet topics. He designed and developed his own technique to simplify Sanskrit and teach them to one and all. During his brief visit to the USA in 1991, he taught Sanskrit. He has contributed many articles on Carnatic music and Bharatha Natyam in the magazines of Shanmugha of Bombay and Saptagiri of Tirumalai Thirupathi Devasthanam.
He was fascinated by the richness of Ramabadra Kavi's works and decided to publish Chitrakavyam. Although he yearned to transliterate Ramabadra Kavi's Chithrakavyam several decades ago, he obtained the original manuscripts sometime in 1997. The condition of the 100-year handwritten manuscripts was very bad. Through his insight and deep understanding, he was able to transliterate, fill in and complete the work. He deserves as much credit as the composer. He died in 1998.

Sri. K. Sampath M. Pharm.

Prof Sampath, youngest brother of my father and husband of Kavi Ramabhadran's great grand daughter, was very much attached to my father. He worked closely with my father to help realize their dreams of spreading Sanskrit. He worked tirelessly to get the book Chitrakavyam published after my father's death in 1998. He is still committed to his goals of spreading my father's message across. He is still very active in his field of Pharmaceutical studies.