Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi, a Tamil poet and freedom fighter in the pre-independence era has several inspirational compositions. His Pappa Pattu gives advice to a child on how to live life. Dr. R. S. Ayyar, (retired Dean of Academic Programs) presents a translation of this great poem.
Run around and play, my dear child,
Don’t be ever lazy.
Play with your friends, but,
Never rebuke any. 1
Like a cute little sparrow,
You run around and fly with joy.
Watching the colorful birds,
Feel happy in mind. 2
Play with the hen,
That picks and eats the food grain,
Be sympathetic to the crow,
That cheats and steals your food. 3
The cow that gives you milk,
Is indeed a good animal
The dog that wags its tail,
Is a close friend of man. 4
The horse that drags the carriage,
The ox that ploughs the field,
The goat depends on you for its survival,
All of them deserve to be cared 5
Early morning, get up and study,
Follow it by singing melodious prayer song,
Play well in the evening,
Make it a daily routine. 6
Don'n ever tell a lie, my child,
Don't ever be a false witness,
God is there always with us,
No harm will ever befall us.
Don't be afraid of those,
Who commit atrocities,my child,
Confront and stamp on them,
And spit on their face my child.
At times when problems confront us,
We should not give up, my child,
Loving God is always with us,
To ward off all our problems.
Laziness is the worst in life,
Don't disobey your mother's advice,
Weeping and whining are signs of handicap,
Be bold and face problems.
The land that has given birth to you,
Is Tamil Nadu,treat her as your mother,
Sweeter than the nectar,my child,
The land of our forefathers.
Tamil is the most supreme language,
Learn it with respect and reverence.
Daily praise the great Hindustan,
Filled with prosperity and wealth.
With Himalayas in the North,
And Kanyakumari in the south,
Look at the vast oceans, my child,
In the east and west.
The land that is the origin of Vedas
The land that gave birth to chivalrous people,
Blemish less land, our Hindustan,
Bow before her, as our Goddess.
There are no castes in our society,
It is a sin to divide upper and lower caste,
The most respectable are those,
With integrity, intelligence, knowledge and love.
We must love all living beings,
Must believe God is truth,
Must possess a brave heart
This is the way to live, my child.
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