10th Mar: Thought of the Day

Tirukkuṛaḷ

Couplet 20 
When water fails, functions of nature cease, you say;
Thus when rain fails, no men can walk in 'duty's ordered way'

Explanation
If it be said that the duties of life cannot be discharged by any person without water, so without rain there cannot be the flowing of water

07th Mar: Thought of the Day

Tirukkuṛaḷ

Couplet 19 

If heaven its watery treasures ceases to dispense,
Through the wide world cease gifts, and deeds of 'penitence'

Explanation

If rain fall not, penance and alms-deeds will not dwell within this spacious world

06th Mar: Thought of the Day

Tirukkuṛaḷ

Couplet 18 
If heaven grow dry, with feast and offering never more,
Will men on earth the heavenly ones adore

Explanation
If the heaven dry up, neither yearly festivals, nor daily worship will be offered in this world, to the celestials

05rd Mar: Thought of the Day

Tirukkuṛaḷ

Couplet 17 

If clouds restrain their gifts and grant no rain,
The treasures fail in ocean's wide domain

Explanation

Even the wealth of the wide sea will be diminished, if the cloud that has drawn (its waters) up gives them not back again (in rain)

03rd Mar: Thought of the Day

Tirukkuṛaḷ

Couplet 16 
If from the clouds no drops of rain are shed
'Tis rare to see green herb lift up its head

Explanation
If no drop falls from the clouds, not even the green blade of grass will be seen

27th Feb: Thought of the Day

Tirukkuṛaḷ

Couplet 15 
'Tis rain works all: it ruin spreads, then timely aid supplies;
As, in the happy days before, it bids the ruined rise

Explanation
Rain by its absence ruins men; and by its existence restores them to fortune

26th Feb: Thought of the Day

Tirukkuṛaḷ

Couplet 14 
If clouds their wealth of waters fail on earth to pour,
The ploughers plough with oxen's sturdy team no more

Explanation
If the abundance of wealth imparting rain diminish, the labour of the plough must cease

24th Feb: Thought of the Day

Tirukkuṛaḷ

Couplet 13 

If clouds, that promised rain, deceive, and in the sky remain,

Famine, sore torment, stalks o'er earth's vast ocean-girdled plain

Explanation

If the cloud, withholding rain, deceive (our hopes) hunger will long distress the sea-girt spacious world

Current Affairs - 24th Feb - 2014

Current Affairs February 2014

• NDA may bag 236 Seats, UPA 92 Survey: The Narendra Modi-led NDA could be within touching distance of power, winning 236 of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, leaving it just 36 seats short of the majority mark, according to an opinion poll done for TV channel. The BJP alone, the poll projected, would win 217 seats, comfortably the party’s highest tally ever.
• Sikh awarded for volunteer services in Singapore: An 82 year old Sikh has been honoured for his outstanding volunteer service in Singapore. Surjan Singh received the ministry of social and family development volunteers Awards for helping some 60 boys, mostly involved in petty crimes such as theft. Singh, a retired teacher, had on of the longest serving volunteer probation career. He served for 42 years.
• BCCI to review Team India’s performance: The BCCI is likely to summon under-fire captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni coach Duncan Fletcher for a meeting to take stock of the Indian cricket team’s disastrous overseas record in the last three years. Top BCCI sources said that the top brass wants to review the performance of the team after their ignominious tour of New Zealand where they lost both the Test and ODI series.
• LPG dealers to down shutters from February 25, 2014: Cooking gas distributors across the country have threatened to stop delivering refills indefinitely from February 25 to press for more relaxed marketing discipline guidelines, a move oil company executive said was aimed at derailing efforts to improve consumer service and end black-marketing of subsidised cylinders.
• China calls US envoy over Obama-Dalai Meet: China on Saturday summoned the  US charge d’affaires in Beijing and lodged a strong diplomatic protest after American President Barack Obama met the Dalai Lama at the White House despite warnings from Beijing that the meeting would damage ties.
• India crash out of U-19 World Cup: Defending champions India crashed out of the Under-19 World Cup Cricket tournament after suffering a three-wicket defeat at the hands of a disciplined England side in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Current Affairs - 20th Feb - 2014

Current Affairs February 2014

• Sikkim won the National Tourism Award 2012-13. The award was handed over by Shashi Tharoor to Bhim Dhungel, Sikkim’s Tourism Minister in New Delhi
  
• Taj Mahotsav, the ten day annual festival began in Agra, Uttar Pradesh
  
• AP Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy resigned from the CM Post
  
• Supreme Court has commuted the death sentence of three convicts in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case to life imprisonment
  
• Largest telecom operator of India Bharti Airtel signed a strategic agreement with Loop Mobile on 18 February 2014
  
• A new system Email Miles using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to calculate the number of miles an email has travelled was developed
  
• RPG Life Sciences, a pharma company from India, lost the battle against the owner of domain name rpglife.com on 17 February 2014
  
• The gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of listed banks rose 35.2 per cent to 2.43 trillion rupees during the first three quarters of the 2013-14
  
• A new category of four-wheelers – Quadricycle – will be allowed to run in cities across the country from 1 October 2014
  
• Indira Gandhi Zoological Park has been selected for creation of first zoo in the country to have a conservation breeding centre for endangered Dholes
  
• Edward Snowden, former National Security Agency contractor, was elected as the new Rector of the University of Glasgow on 18 February 2014
  
• 3000 Americans have renounced their citizenship in 2013 owing to become tired of dealing with intrusive US tax laws and complicated tax filings
  
• Connaught Place in Delhi is the world’s eighth most expensive office location
  
• Sid Caesar a great TV comedian died at 91 on 14 February 2014

20th Feb: Thought of the Day

Tirukkuṛaḷ

Couplet 12 

The rain makes pleasant food for eaters rise;

As food itself, thirst-quenching draught supplies

Explanation

Rain produces good food, and is itself food

Current Affairs - 19th Feb - 2014

Current Affairs February 2014

• Peng Shuai ranked number 1 in the Women’s Tennis Association Doubles ranking
  
• Li Na ranked number 2 in the Women’s Tennis Association singles ranking
  
• The great footballer of Preston and England, Tom Finney died at the age of 91 on 14 February 2014
  
• Sachin Tendulkar and Virendra Sehwag were nominated amongst the nominees for the ESPNcricinfo@20 Cricketer of the Generation award
  
• New Zealand won 2-cricket Test Series against India 1-0. Second match of the series ended in a draw and McCullum became the man of match
  
• The Reader’s Digest was sold for just 1 pound to Mike Luckwell on 17 February 2014
  
• A new layer in the human cornea was discovered by the Indian doctor Harminder Dua at The University of Nottingham in 2014
  
• Carnatic music, Vocalist Rudra Krishna Srikantan, 94 died due to chest congestion in Bangalore
  
• Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kingfisher Airlines Sanjay Aggarwal resigned on 17 February 2014
  
• BJP leader Arun Jaitely launched a book entitled ModiNomics in New Delhi. The book has been authored by Sameer Kochhar
  
• First pro-Hindi political party of Tamil Nadu was launched by Madras High Court Advocates Association in Tamil Nadu on 17 February 2014
  
• The 67th British Academy (BAFTA) Awards held in London on 16 February 2014
  
• Pakistan appointed Abdul Basit as Pakistan’s high commissioner to India on 17 February 2014
  
• Marathi film, Killa directed by Avinash Arun won the Crystal Bear for the best film at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival

19th Feb: Thought of the Day

Tirukkuṛaḷ

Couplet 11  The world its course maintains through life that rain unfailing gives; Thus rain is known the true ambrosial food of all that lives

Explanation By the continuance of rain the world is preserved in existence; it is therefore worthy to be called ambrosia

Current Affairs - 18th Feb - 2014

Current Affairs February 2014

• Indian flag was unfurled at Winter Olympics Village at Sochi, Russia at a ceremony at the International Plaza of the Mountain Village
• Foreign Minister of Kyrgyz Republic, Erlan Abdyldaev visited India from 13 to 15 February 2014 on the invitation of Salman Khurshid
• Union Government raised the import tariff value on gold and silver to 421 US dollar per 10 grams and 663 US dollar per kilogram respectively
• World Bridge Championship for Bermuda Bowl (men) and Venice Cup (women) will be hosted by India for the first time in October 2015
• Interim Budget 2014-15 of tax proposals presented
• Speaker of Lok Sabha has referred the pepper spray incident in the Lok Sabha to the Privileges Committee
• Union Finance Minister, P Chidambaram presented the Interim Budget 2014-15 in the Lok Sabha on 17 February 2014
• President Rule has been imposed on Delhi by the President of India after accepting the resignation Arvind Kejriwal
• Vijaykumar Vinayak Dongre and Guocheng Zhang received International Gandhi Award for the year 2013 by President of India
• Purushottam Express will become the first train in India to be attached with a Braille-embedded AC coach for visually-challenged passengers

18th Feb: Thought of the Day

Couplet 10

They swim the sea of births, the 'Monarch's' foot who gain;
None others reach the shore of being's mighty main

Explanation

None can swim the great sea of births but those who are united to the feet of God

Current Affairs - 13th Feb - 2014

Current Affairs February 2014

• Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg became the youngest and the most generous philanthropist of America in 2013
• Accenture released a report India ranked 8th in the list of ten countries in terms of digital governance
• Canada announced to open a Consulate General Office in Bangalore on 11 February 2014
• Indian-Origin Ashok Varadhan was appointed as the co-head of the Goldman Sachs’ securities division
• China and Taiwan began their first official-level talks since the end of the brutal Chinese civil war in 1949 on 11 February 2014
• The Vice President of India M. Hamid Ansari launched the India-China Year of Friendly Exchanges on 11 February 2014
• Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Government of India signed a 275 million dollar loan for improving rural road connectivity
• The Bombay Stock Exchange launched an institutional trading platform (ITP) for small and medium enterprises on 12 February 2014
• Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi named as the Chairperson and Co-Chairman respectively of the party’s 50-member Campaign Committee for 2014 elections
• Konsam Himalaya Singh became the first Lieutenant General in the army from Manipur
• Mahindra South Africa has declared 2013 as the year for the annual sales in decade of its being operational in the country
• 103 persons were killed in Algeria when a military aircraft C-130 Hercules crashed in the mountains of Algeria on 12 February 2014
• Former Hollywood child star Shirley Temple passed away on 11 February 2014

13th Feb: Thought of the Day

Couplet 9 
Before His foot, 'the Eight-fold Excellence,' with unbent head,Who stands, like palsied sense, is to all living functions dead

Explanation

The head that worships not the feet of Him who is possessed of eight attributes, is as useless as a sense without the power of sensation

Current Affairs - 12th Feb - 2014

Current Affairs February 2014

• The 101st Annual Session of Indian Science Congress (ISC) was held at the University of Jammu, from 3 February 2014 to 7 February 2014
  
• Jatinder Bir Singh was appointed Chairman and Managing Director of Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) on 6 February 2014
  
• Vinod Sawhny appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Reliance Communications
  
• Indian boxers finished fourth at the 58th Bocskai International Tournament which concluded in Hungary
  
• Cambridge scientists successfully printed new eye cells using inkjet printing technology for the first time on 10 February 2014
  
• The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways made it mandatory for public transport vehicles running in major cities to install GPS
  
• R.K.Tiwari was appointed new chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on 9 February 2014
  
• Popular Indian film Black was screened at Fakel Theatre in Moscow. This screening was done in Indian Cinema Club in association with the JNCCEI, Moscow
  
• The President presented Krishi Karman Awards for excellence in food grain production for 2012-13
  
• Sikkim became the first State in India to achieve 100 percent sanitation coverage under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan Scheme on 9 February 2014.
  
• N Ramachandran was elected President of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on 9 February 2014
  
• The South Central Railway launched Hyderabad Live Train Enquiry System
  
• Cancer foundation YouWeCan of Yuvraj Singh joined hand with an NGO Navbharat Sewa Samiti to roll out a campaign named Cancer Mukt Purvi Dilli

12th Feb: Thought of the Day

Couplet 8  Unless His feet 'the Sea of Good, the Fair and Bountiful,' men gain, 'Tis hard the further bank of being's changeful sea to attain Explanation None can swim the sea of vice, but those who are united to the feet of that gracious Being who is a sea of virtue

Current Affairs - 11th Feb - 2014

Current Affairs February 2014

• Scientists have discovered human footprints on the Norfolk Coast of England, which are at least 8 lakh years old
• Banks declared 2 day Strike in support of immediate wage hike and in protest of proposed bank reforms
• Justice Mukul Mudgal committee has submitted its report on IPL spot fixing scandal against team owners of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals
• Srinivasan was elected as the new Chairman of ICC for a period of 2 years. He will succeed Alan Raymond Isaac
• Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) for Documentary, Short and Animation Films held in Mumbai
• CSO estimated India’s economic growth in 2013-14 fiscal to be 4.9 percent as compared to the growth rate of 4.5 percent in 2012-13
• Olympian distance runner Ranjit Bhatia died
• Yulia Lipnitskaya won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics, Sochi, Russia
• bhinav Bindra became first person to win three gold medals in an event at Inter-Shoot Tri-series Shooting being held at Hague, Netherlands
• Sushil Koirala was elected as the next Prime Minister of Nepal on 10 February 2013 by the countries Parliament
• Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to incorporate amendments in the proposed Rights of the Persons with Disabilities Bill 2014