Puranaanooru – 187
Inhabited at some places, deserted at others,
depressed at some places, raised at others;
wherever your men are good,
Blessed land, you are good too.
நாடா கொன்றோ காடா கொன்றோ
அவலா கொன்றோ மிசையா கொன்றோ
எவ்வழி நல்லவ ராடவர்
அவ்வழி நல்லை வாழிய நிலனே.
This poem by Avvayar, written around 2000 years ago, says that a land doesn’t have any innate characteristic of its own. It is as good as its citizens are. She says to the land – You are a settlement (inhabited) at some places, a forest (deserted) at others; depressed at some places, raised at others. You don’t have any defining characteristic. You are as good as the citizens who occupy you are.
I have chosen to use inhabited / deserted instead of the literal meaning country/forest for ease of understanding in English.
Old Tamil Poetry 