199. An Impromptu Speech

I attended the wedding of my relative, on behalf of my family.

Though the bride's family was not related to us closely, my father was particular that someone from my family should attend the wedding and he sent me, as his representative.

Guests coming from other places were provided accommodation in the rooms in the wedding hall.

Among the guests attending the wedding, only my uncle was well acquainted with me. He was staying in a room with his wife.

Five young men, including me, were accommodated in one room. Since we were not accompanied by any other person, we were grouped together.

All the five of us were all related to the bride, but we were not acquainted with each other. We introduced ourselves to each other and began to converse.

The marriage ceremony was scheduled for the next morning. 

After having our dinner, we five came to our room and began to chat. Though we had got acquainted with each other just a few hours back, we were conversing profusely on sundry topics, ranging from politics to films, including interesting gossip shared in the social media about film stars and other celebrities.

Among us, Mukundan kept aloof, without participating in the conversation. He was listening passively. I was not even sure whether he was listening to the conversation or he was thinking of something.

After a few minutes, he told us, "Excuse me. I will be sitting out for a while. It is stuffy inside the room" and went away. 

I observed that in addition to his mobile phone, he was also carrying a pocket notebook and a pen, with him.

After chatting for sometime, we went to bed. I didn't notice when  Mukundan came back to the room.

The next day, after the wedding ceremony had got over, the four of us sat in the room and chatted.

Mukundan smiled at us, sat in a corner of the room and kept himself busy, listening to his mobile phone.

My uncle came to our room to see me. After talking with me for a few minutes, he pointed Mukundan to me and asked me, "Why is he sitting alone?"

"I don't know. Maybe, the topics we chat on do not interest him!" I said, smiling.

My uncle went to where Mukundan was sitting, sat near him, spoke to him for sometime and left.

A music concert was arranged during the reception in the evening. We came to know that the singer had cancelled the concert, since he was indisposed. 

After the reception ceremony had commenced, my uncle went to the stage and said on the mike, "Since we couldn't have the music concert, we have arranged a speech program. Mr. Mukundan will speak on 'The wonders of marriage.'" 

After a pause, he added, "It is to be mentioned that Mr. Mukundan is unmarried."

The guests laughed at his joke, gently. 

Just as I was wondering whether the speaker Mukundan was the person staying in my room or it was another person with the same name, my roommate Mukundan went on the stage.

For the next one hour, Mukundan captivated the guests with his spell-binding speech. I was astonished that a person could speak so interestingly on a mundane topic like marriage life. The feast presented by him with a variety of dishes, comprising psychological factors, real life examples, stories and jokes was relished by all.

After Mukundan had completed his speech, there was a big ovation. Anyone listening to the ovation would know that it was an expression of genuine appreciation, not a ceremonial exercise.

I went on to the stage and congratulated Mukundan on his excellent speech.

Later, when my uncle was alone, I asked him, "Uncle! How did you discover that this stranger had such a talent?"

"You saw me talking to him, when he was sitting alone in his room. I asked him why he was sitting aloof, without joining you people in the chat. He just smiled, without saying anything. I looked at his pocket notebook and found that he had noted down a lot of things in it. I found that his jottings were on a variety of topics like spirituality, literature, social issues, humour etc. When I asked him about those jottings, he said that he followed the practice of noting down interesting and useful things he read and heard, in a pocket notebook. He also told me that he was not interested in idle conversation and that when he was alone, if he thought of something, he would record his thoughts in his mobile and would transcribe them in a notebook, after going home. Even by the afternoon, When I learnt that the music program was going to be cancelled, I asked Mukundan whether he could speak on a topic. Initially, he hesitated. Subsequently, he accepted my proposal. I think he delivered an excellent speech. What do you think?" said my uncle

"His speech was great. Mukubdan is great. And you, who discovered the talent in a stranger and motivated him to display it, are great too!" I said, with genuine admiration.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 20
Avoiding Vain Speech

Verse 199 (In Tamil)

poruL thIrndha pochchAndhum sollAr
maruL thIrndha mAsaRu kAtchiyavar.

Meaning:

Those who are flawlessly wise, and have overcome all delusion,

will desist from speaking worthless words, even unconsciously.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'nalla Asiriyar' by the same author)

Verse 198
Verse 196

733. The King's Pride

"Your Majesty! Everyday, hundreds of people from Sangha country cross the borders and enter our country. Our soldiers have made the refugees stay in the tents erected near the borders The influx of people into our country everyday is causing concern" said the Minister.

"What do you suggest we do, Minister?" asked the King.

"'In Sangha country, the racists have been massacring the racial minorities. King Rajapadman, instead of taking strong action to stop the genocide, has been quietly watching the violence, giving an impression that the violence let loose by the racist elements has the tacit approval of the king. It is not surprising that the racial minorities, fearing for their life, have been taking refuge in our country. If you permit, we can move the refugees, kept in the camps near the border, to various regions inside our country and make them settle down there. We can arrange them to be fed in the poor feeding centres located nearby. To meet the cost of feeding the refugees, you may permit funds to be released from the palace treasury" said the Minister, reluctantly.

"Do as proposed by you. But, I think that there will be no need for it" said the King, with an enigmatic smile.

"Do you expect that the violence will be put to end in Sangha country and peace will be restored soon?" asked the Minister, perplexed.

"I don't expect normalcy to return to Sangha country, as long as Rajapadman remains the king. What I said is based on my assessment about the people of our country."

The minister was unable to decipher the meaning of the King's statement.

"Your Majesty! The need for us to relocate the refugees and feed them didn't arise. Our citizens have erected tents at several places near the border for the refugees to stay. They have also been providing food to them. Perhaps, this was anticipated by you!" said the Minister.

"Yes, Minister. The sobriquet 'A country that is hospitable to the immigrants' is not a hyperbole created by our poets to glorify our country. It was a title given to our country by grateful people who had migrated to our country in the past for various reasons like escaping from wars, repression, epidemics, famines, natural calamities etc. and become a part of our country's population" said the King, with pride.

"But, how long can our people support the refugees?"

"Our people are like milk, which would absorb any amount of water poured into it. However, we should reduce the burden of the people. We will supply food grains from the palace granary for feeding the refugees staying in tents."

"Yes, Your Majesty. But, I also have another worry."

"I know what your concern is, Minister. Is it not better to face a challenge when we are confronted with it, rather than worry about it in advance?" asked the King, with a smile.

"Your Majesty! Since our people's finances have been strained by their extending hospitality to the refugees, I was worried that our tax collections would be affected. But tax collections for this year have been robust. People have paid the taxes in time, as they have always done in the past. I find this amazing!" said the Minister.

"This comes as no surprise to me, Minister. My expectations, based on my assessment about our people's dedication, sacrificial spirit and the responsible attitude that the government could function well only if the citizens paid the taxes due in time, have not been belied. I am proud of the citizens of our country" said the King, brimming with pride. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 74
The Country

Verse 733 (in Tamil):
poRai orungu mEl varum kAl thAngi iRaivaRku
iRai orungu nErvadhu nAdu.

Meaning:

A country should bear any burden that may be forced on it (from adjoining countries) and its people should willingly pay the taxes to the government.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'arasarin perumidham' by the same author.) 

Verse 732
Verse 730

198. The Last Class

It was the last session of the Gurukula* education.

After studying for a few years, staying in the Guru's (teacher) house and successfully completing the tests conducted by the Guru, the disciples were ready to return home.

The Guru wanted to conduct one more session for his disciples, before their departure.

The disciples were curious to know what the teacher was going to teach them in the final session.

"I am not going to teach you anything new today" began the Guru. "I want each of you to describe a scene you have witnessed. Each should speak at least for five minutes."

After hesitating for a few minutes, wondering what they could speak about, one by one, the students described a scene witnessed by them.

After everyone had spoken, the Guru described a few scenes watched by him.

"One day, it was raining. I was sitting in my hermitage and looking outside. A sparrow carried a small cup in its beak, came to a spot, kept it there and flew away. After sometime, it came back to the spot with another sparrow. The two sparrows gripped the cup filled with rain water with their beaks and flew with some difficulty, taking care to see that the water didn't spill. They kept it in a hole on the trunk of a tree  

"A dog dug a small channel with its legs. The rain water from the road flowed to a few plants that were on the side of the road. I don't know whether the dog did it knowingly or unknowingly."

After narrating a few more incidents like this, the Guru said, "I am giving each of you a gift" and gave each of them a few palm leaves and a writing pen. He then bade them goodbye.

After Sravanan came home from the Gurukula, his father asked him about his experience in the Gurukula.

"I learnt a lot during my stay there. But, our Guru had a last session in which he discussed a few things that did not appear to have any value. I don't understand why he did so" said Sravan.

"An erudite person like your Guru would not have spoken about things that had no value. There would be a meaning behind everything he told you. His intention would have been to make you reflect on the things he discussed in the class. Take your time to think about what he said. If you are able to find the meaning, let me know" said Sravanan's father.

After two days, Sravanan told his father, "Father! As advised by you, I reflected on the things our Guru told us in the last class. I got some insights. Please let me know whether my understanding is correct."

"Tell me" said his father.

"During the period of our stay in the Gurukula, we were only listening to our teacher. Except for answering the questions posed by him, we didn't speak much. I think he asked us to describe a scene only for giving us an opportunity to express ourselves. Speaking for five minutes was a real challenge. However, after speaking, we felt a sense of pride and and satisfaction."

"You may be right. Continue" said Sravanan's father encouragingly.

"After making us describe a scene we had witnessed, the Guru narrated a few scenes witnessed by him. I think that the scenes described by him conveyed profound messages. When it rains, water flows on the street. But, after the rain stops, the water will get drained. The sparrow saved the rain water by making strenuous efforts. Perhaps the Guru wanted us to understand that to ensure that we didn't forget what we had learnt, we should store them in our mind by making efforts to recall our learning and impressing it in our mind. We should also make a note of important things. That is why he gave us palm leaves and a pen. Just as the dog dug a channel and made the rain water flow to the plants, we should also share our knowledge with others. There should be an inner meaning to the other stories narrated by him too. I am thinking about them" said Sravanan.

"Very good. I think that you have fulfilled your Guru's expectations to a great extent. I think there could be another message behind your Guru giving you blank palm leaves and a pen. It may be to convey you a message 'your education is not over.' There are always more things to learn. The purpose of giving you blank palm leaves is to tell you that you should note down new things you keep learning."

"So many messages are hidden in the class I initially thought had no value! Our Guru has tried to teach us many subtle things in the last class" sais Sravanan, with amazement.

* Gurukula - A system of education practiced in ancient India, in which the students resided in the Guru's house and learnt things. They were also expected to do the chores at the Guru's house.

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 20
Avoiding Vain Speech

Verse 198 (In Tamil)

arum payan Ayum aRivinAr sollAr
perum payan illAdha sol.

Meaning:

The wise who weigh the worth of anything they say or do, will refrain from words that have no grain in them.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'kadaisi vaguppu' by the same author)

Verse 199
Verse 196

197. The Popular Teacher

Headmaster Subramanian didn't expect the new Tamil teacher Kandhan to gain so much popularity among the students in such a short time.

Considering that Kandhan joined the school just after completing his graduation, followed by a teacher training course, with no prior experience in teaching, initially, Subramanian allocated him classes only up to the fifth grade.  

After a couple of months, Subramanian asked Kandhan to handle classes for 'B' section of 6th grade.

Kandhan became popular among the students of 6th grade in no time. Students of 6-B spread the message that Kandhan's classes were interesting and enjoyable. 

Hearing this, some students of 6-A, through their parents, made requests to the headmaster to move them to the 'B' section. 

Subramanian rejected those requests. He explained to the parents that Swaminathan, who was the Tamil teacher for 6-A was a senior and experienced teacher, with a very good reputation. 

One day, Subramanian stood outside 6-B, when Kandhan was handling the class and and listened to Kandhan for a couple of minutes. It appeared to Subramanian that the teacher and the students were chatting jovially. 

He wondered whether Kandhan was teaching the students or he was just chatting with them. However, thinking that the satisfaction of the students was the criterion to judge a teacher, he dismissed his concerns.

The school had a practice of getting question papers for the half-yearly examinations for grades 6 and above set by teachers from other schools and getting the answer sheets also evaluated by them. 

When Subramanian saw the mark list of students of Grade 6-B for the half-yearly examination, he was shocked by the poor marks got by many students in Tamil. 

A few of the students who had been scoring high marks did not score even the minimum marks required for a pass.

Subramanian met the students of 6-B and asked them what went wrong.

"Sir! We found the questions asked in the examination unfamiliar. Those topics were not covered in the class" was the answer given by almost all the students. 

"Those topics were not covered by the teacher! You have been saying that Mr. Kandhan teaches very well."

"Sir! He talked about some interesting things. We found them enjoyable. But he covered only some lessons. He told us to read the remaining lessons by ourselves" said one student, who was upset by the low scores got by him,while he had been getting high scores in all the examinations in the past.

Subramanian summoned Kandhan and asked him, "Mr. Kandhan! Did you not teach all the lessons in the class?"

Kandhan said hesitatingly, "I taught a few lessons. But, I asked the students to read some lessons by themselves. Only if they read the lessons by themselves, the lessons will get deeply impressed in their minds."

"Mr. Kandhan, You are teaching students of 6th grade. You are talking as if you are guiding Ph.D. students! What did you teach during the class hours?"

"I talked about certain general things so that the students would develop an interest in honing their language skills."

"I spoke to the students. I didn't gain the impression that you told them anything inspiring. You had entertained them by talking to them about irrelevant things. They had been enjoying your classes, since they were entertaining. But, after getting poor scores in the examination, they realized that you had not taught them the lessons properly. Now, many of your students have been requesting me to move them to 'A 'section."

"Sir! Mr. Swaminathan, handling the 'A' section, has been doing some inappropriate things too. He has been teaching the students some shortcuts to get scores in the examination. For example, he has told the students that if a student couldn't write the meaning of a Thirukkural verse, he could reproduce the verse given in the question paper and that he would be awarded 2 marks for that."

"He might have done a few inappropriate things. But he teaches properly, by explaining the lessons in the class. But, you have been chatting with the students, without explaining the lessons. This is highly irregular. I can dismiss you for this impropriety. But, I want to give you another chance. Make it a point to teach the lessons properly and ensure that the students learn the lessons, do well in the annual examination and get good scores" said Subramanian, in a strict tone.

Kandhan got up and left the headmaster's cabin, keeping his head down.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 20
Avoiding Vain Speech

Verse 197 (In Tamil)

nayan ila sollinum solluga sAnROr
payan ila sollAmai nanRu.

Meaning:

A man of worth may say something that may not be considered good. But, he must refrain from speaking vain words.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'nalla Asiriyar' by the same author)

Verse 198
Verse 196

196. At the Paddy Field

When Vaiyapuri was standing near his paddy field, Siva came there.

"Harvest operations seem to be going on!" remarked Siva.

"Yes. I am monitoring the work. But, you don't have to bother about activities like this. The harvest will reach your home without your lifting a finger!"

"Well, you are mocking me for my having leased out my land. But, as you know, I will get only the share left after the lessee takes his!"

"True. But, it is the lessee who does all the work. You are sitting at home and receiving your share of the harvest."

"You are talking like a communist!"

"I am not a communist. The communists will call me a bourgeois. But, in reality, I have to stand under the hot sun and supervise the operations."

"My father was doing it too."

"Yes, of curse. Your father was always thinking about the fields and cultivating the crops. He toiled in the fields to give you good education. But, after completing your college education, you didn't go for a job or start a business. You didn't engage yourself in cultivation of your lands either, as your father had done You sold half of your lands, deposited the money in the bank and leased out the remaining lands. And, you have been sitting at home, relaxing yourself!"

"Every time, I talk to you, you harp on this narrative. But, don't you see that like you, I am also standing under the hot sun?" asked Siva. 

"You are joking. Your father also used to speak hilariously. You seem to have inherited your father's sense of humour, By the way, are you at least engaging yourself in helping your children in their studies, while you are at home?" asked Vaiyapuri.

"Helping my children in their studies is being taken care of my wife. I was wise to marry an educated woman, wasn't I"

"You are smart, indeed. What do you do at home?"

"I don't stay at home. I am always outdoors, as I am now, conversing with you, standing at the paddy fields, braving the hot sun!"

"You are good at smart talk too!" said Vaiyapuri. He then turned his attention to the field. Looking at a couple of labourers standing in the middle of the field and chatting, he yelled, "Why are you chatting there? You need to complete the harvesting operations by the end of the day."

He than moved away.

Finding that Vaiyapuri was getting busy, Siva also moved away. 

"Vaiyapuri returned to that spot after a few minutes. Finding that Siva was not there, he asked a labourer standing there, "Where is that person who was talking to me?"

"He has left, sir" said the worker.

"He would have moved away to some other place. He would stand there and spend his time talking to someone. He would then go to someone's house in the village, sit there and chat with the person in the house for a while. His only job is to indulge in vain talk and waste other people's time" said Vaiyapuri, with irritation..

"Why is he like this?"

"What can I say? When we harvest the crops, don't we find that some crops have no grin but only chaff? Among human beings also, there are some, who turn out to be chaff!" said Vaiyapuri. 

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 20
Avoiding Vain Speech

Verse 196 (In Tamil)

payanil sol pArAttuvAnai magan enal
makkaL padhadi enal.

Meaning:

One who parades forth empty words shouldn't be called a man. Call him chaff among men.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'vayalum vAzhvum' by the same author)

Verse 197 (Soon)
Verse 195

732. The Rebel

Bharathan, arrested on charges of rebellion, was brought to the King's court.

The Chief of Security read out the charges against Bharathan.

"This young man, called Bharathan, brought before this court has been running a parallel government in his village. The people of the village, following his directions, have also been indulging in anti-national activities  Therefore, he has been arrested on the charge of indulging in activities against the state."

"What is your response, Bharathan?" the King asked Bharathan. 

"Your Majesty! The Chief of Security says I was engaged in rebellion against the state. If I am a rebel, so are Your Majesty!" said Bharathan.

There was a commotion in the court. The guards, who were holding Bharathan, tightened their grip and waited for the king's orders. 

The King asked Bharathan, with a smile "Tell me Bharathan! What are the rebellious activities performed by me?"

"Your Majesty! After your incarnation, you came on the terrace of the palace and addressed the people. I was one of those who had listened to that address. I am sure Your Majesty remembers what you said during that address.

The people in the court were shocked by the effrontery with which he spoke to the King and looked at Bharathan, with a feeling of surprise.

"I do remember it, Respected Bharathan. But, I would like to hear it from you" said the King, his smile still playing on his lips. 

People in the court thought that the King referring to him as 'Respected Bharathan' showed that he was very angry with Bharathan and that he was going to punish Bharathan severely.

"Your Majesty! You said that our country should flourish, that people of other countries should hear about our prosperity and cherish to come and live in our country and that crimes and diseases should be totally eradicated. You added that to achieve these objectives, we should make the best use of the lands in our country, by cultivating them efficiently and improving the harvest to the optimum level so that there would be surfeit of food grains production and that we should export the surplus to other countries. You emphasized that achieving these objectives was your goal."

"You have aptly reproduced the essential points of my speech. You call my advice to the people rebellious?"

 "I have been executing in my village the measures advocated by you in your speech. The security forces have flagged my activities as rebellious and arrested me!"

The King looked at the Chief of Security. 

"Your Majesty! He persuaded some of the people of his village to give up agriculture and take up some other activities. He also asked people to occupy the lands belonging to the government, without the permission of the government authorities. He made canals dug, without government approval and diverted the river water through them. He also created a council of eminent people to try people accused of crimes. In addition to committing such anti-government activities in his village, he also instigated people belonging to nearby villages to take up such activities in their villages too" said the Chief of Security.

"I could understand what my fellow rebel would have done. But, I would like to hear it from his own mouth" said the King, his smile broadening.

Bharathan looked at the King with surprise and feeling encouraged by the King's words, said:

"Your Majesty! In my village, there are barren lands that have remained unused. Since the lands belong to the government, no one has been able to use them. Our villagers approached the government officials, seeking their permission to make them cultivable. But, they didn't give the permission. Therefore, I told the villagers that they could make the lands cultivable, grow crops in them, harvest the yield, pay the taxes due to the government from the yield and keep the surplus income for themselves.  

"A few wealthy people came forward to pay the wages for the people working on these lands. The arrangement was that they would get a portion of the harvest as compensation for their investment. This arrangement would bring prosperity to the village and also yield revenue to the government.

"The water flowing in the river was not being utilized fully, due to the absence of duly structured canals, A few big landlords were diverting the water to their lands, by digging canals from the river to their lands. We got the canals restructured to ensure that the canals benefited all the people.

"Since the agricultural operations could not sustain all the people in the village, I motivated a few enterprising people to engage themselves in some other activities, so that they could earn more and also provide employment to a few people. 

"Seeing that the steps taken by the people of our village have been yielding benefits to us, people from nearby villages approached us to guide them to implement similar measures. We invited them to our village and showed them what we have been doing. After that, they started implementing similar measures in their villages."

"If every village starts doing the things you have done in your village, it will lead to the progress of the country. Is it not an anti-national act?" asked the King, laughing.

While everyone in the court looked at the King, perplexed by his remarks, the King told the Minister, "Minister! You have been telling me that you need an intelligent and talented person as your deputy, to help you in running the affairs of our country. I don't think you will find a more suitable candidate for that position than this rebel called Bharathan!" said the King.

Reading the signal conveyed by the King through his eye movement, the guards disengaged the chains binding Bharathan.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 74
Divining the Mind

Verse 732 (in Tamil):
perum poruLAl pettakkadhu Agi arum kEttAl
ARRa viLaivadhu nAdu.

Meaning:

A country should be desirable by all, by virtue of its abundant wealth. It should be devoid of detriments. It should have bumper harvest from the crops. 

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'dhesadhrOgi' by the same author.) 

Verse 733
Verse 731

731. The New Monarch

Mahendran climbed the throne, after the demise of his father.

"May you provide good governance like your father" the minister wished the king.

"I will do my best, using the guidance of wise men like you" said Mahendran. "Minister! I had been confined to the palace all these years. I don't know anything about our country. I would like to travel to various parts of our country and learn about our country and our people" he added.

"As you wish, Your Majesty! I will make arrangements for your tour immediately" said the minister.

Mahendran returned to his palace, after touring various regions of his country for about a month.

A couple of days after he had returned to the palace, Mahendran summoned the minister

"Minister! After visiting many parts of our country, I feel very  proud of our country. I saw green fields everywhere. Since we have been having a good harvest, we have no shortage of food grains. People are good-natured. They are mostly well off. But..."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

At many places, I saw barren lands. People living in those regions told me that since they had been getting enough harvest from the lands cultivated already, they didn't take any steps to cultivate the barren lands. I was disturbed by the answer. As the population grows, we will need more food grains. I feel that we should devise a plan to cultivate the barren lands too. We can donate those lands to people who have no lands and give them financial assistance to convert these lands into cultivable lands so that after that they would be able to cultivate those lands and make more food grains available to us" said Mahendran.

"It is a very good idea, Your Majesty. I will take steps immediately to implement it" said the minister.

"Secondly, I find most of the people have had no formal education. Only education can make a person worthy. Just as barren lands are to be made cultivable, illiterate people must be made educated. We should set up educational institutions in all places and impart basic education to all."

"Yes, Your Majesty! Imparting education to the people must be one of our primary objectives. I have discussed this issue with your late father. But, we couldn't implement the plan of setting up educational institutions, since it required immense resources. I will start working on this task too. But, this can be done only over a period."

"I understand. I authorize you to earmark any amount of money from the palace treasure for education. The third thing I wanted to talk about was improving our financial resources."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"The people of our country are reasonably well off. But, as you know, wealth is not stable. It will get depleted over time. Wealth will remain undiminished, only if we keep augmenting our earnings. We should create plans for making the best use of the country's natural and the skills of our people. We should encourage people to engage in various trade and service activities that will generate income for them and add to the income of the country in the process. We can even sell our goods to other countries and earn substantial revenue."

"Your Majesty! It is the duty of the minister to advise the king. But you have carried out my responsibilities also. I will make all out efforts to implement your ideas and ensure that your objective of making our country and our people grow well and excel in all fields is fulfilled soon" said the minister.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 74
The Country

Verse 731 (in Tamil):
thaLLA viLaiyuLum thakkArum thAzhvu ilAch
chelvarum sErvadhu nAdu.

Meaning:

Unfailing crops, virtuous people, and the wealthy

with untarnished and undiminishing wealth, constitute a country.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'pudhiya mannar' by the same author.) 

Verse 732
Verse 730