Kaniyan Poongunranar, wrote:
“Yadhum Úre Yávarum Kélir” (யாதும் ஊரே யாவரும் கேளிர்)
When my father told me about this quote from an ancient Tamil poet I was so inspired by it that I wrote:
MY COUNTRY
This is my country, and I am so proud
Said a man in a voice that was a bit too loud.
And another said, that’s of course true,
But sometimes I like to say this too:
My country is in fact larger still.
And I’ll tell you why, if you will:
Canada is my country too
Stretches far and wide, as very few:
It extends not only from the Atlantic
To the Pacific and also to the Arctic.
Its laws are based on Enlightenment,
With no links to the British Parliament,
Here and there it’s bilingual,
Nowhere is it dreary or dull.
Bolivia is my country too.
From our lands we’ve no sea to view.
We are high on a mountain, make no mistake
We have world’s highest lake.
Our capital La Paz is the highest city,
We’ve plenty of rainfall, and biodiversity,
We’ve gold and silver, iron and tin,
Andean armadillo and our river dolphin.
Mexico is my country too
Ecuador and Colombia,
Panama and Peru,
Even all the oceans blue.
England, Europe, even Finland,
Scotland and even Ireland,
All of Europe, east and west.
North and south and all the rest.
North African lands like Algeria,
Tunisia and Syria,
Iran, Iraq, Libya,
All the lands of Arabia
African ones like Sudan,
I can just go on and on
Alphabetically all the way
From Angola to Zimbabwe.
Mine is Russia and Armenia
Nepal, Bhutan and India,
Afghanistan, Usbekistan
Israel and Pakistan.
Two Koreas and Japan
Mainland China and Taiwan,
Australia and New Zealand
Even Iceland and Greenland.
My country is large, it even lies
Beyond land and water, over the skies.
Includes Mars, Venus and Saturn
No matter where in space you turn.
Sun and stars and the Milky Way
Far and near, whatever you say.
I claim all these as mine in verse,
‘Cause I was born in the Universe.
My problem is: With all this might
I’ve no foe with whom to fight.
This World is My World
This World is Your World,
From the South Pole to the North Pole
Extending to the Universe Whole.
V. V. Raman
Spurts of Thought 