![]() The Bharathiar Memorial Museum cum Research Centre, located on No. 20, Eswaran Dharamaraja Koil Street in Puducherry is almost a place of pilgrimage today for the Tamil people. Having been under closure for nearly 5 years, it was restored and renovated by the Government of Puducherry, as a Grade I heritage structure. The restoration work was done at a cost of Rs. 1 Crore, undertaken by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) in 2014. The museum’s architecture is a blend of French and traditional Tamil architectures. It was closed to tourists in November 2009, and the museum’s collection and assets of Subramanya Bharathiyar were shifted to the Subbiah memorial house and library on Vellala Street. The renovation work was delayed due to procedural wrangles. This closure was a considerable loss for researchers and scholars, who wanted to get a deep insight into the literary works of the great poet, let alone admirers and tourists. Scholars and writers believe that the manuscripts housed in this museum show word substitutions made by Bharathiyar, thus allowing an invaluable in-depth insight into the thought process of one of the greatest Tamil poets and to understand why he preferred a certain word over another. It has been renovated using traditional materials like Madras Terrace roofing, has a seminar hall with audio-visual and WiFi facilities for research scholars. Thus, the restored Bharathiar Memorial Museum cum Research Centre is the abode for those seeking the fount of the poet Bharathiyar’s inspiration of his works during the freedom struggle, which is judged as his most creative period in addition to being a prosperous era of Tamil Literature. Related Articles: Puducherry Tamil Literature Subramanya Bharathiyar French Possession in South India Museums of Puducherry Puducherry Museum, Puducherry |