உழுதுண்டு வாழ்வாரே வாழ்வர் மற்றெல்லாம்
தொழுதுண்டு பின் செல்வர்.
I listened to this Thirukkural on radio today. Apparently the meaning is that the person who produces food and gives it to others is the one who really lives - he is the leader. Others just follow.
The poem sounds interesting only when you take yourself back two thousand years back when it was written. Or maybe even if you go back a hundred years. It was written at a time when all that man did was to live and eat. Eating was an essential part of life. Rather much of the wealth was spent on food. And there were no chain restaurants then. People cooked and ate at home. And hence the farmer was an important man in the chain.
How important is eating today? Especially of vegetables and fruits? Does it make sense today?
We only relate to farmers who commit suicides in India by the hundreds now. And as a loser's profession. What happens when agriculture becomes extinct and there is no food? Would we live on artificially made food? As it is, the percentage of agricultural products in our diet is quite low - replaced rather by animal meat or fast food or drinks.
Would our life come to a halt when there are no more farmers and no more farm produce?
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