BREAK BUT DO NOT BEND

Would a pillar of granite,

When it is over-burdened

bend or buckle at any point

rather than splinter and fall?

Likewise the noble ones

When their honour is confronted

would lay down their very life

and not submit to the tyrannous.

[Tamil poem from Moodhurai by AVVAIYAR (12^th century A.D) rendered into English by Sage TGN]