Maalik. Owner, master. The Rekhta dictionary also gives “a title addressed to sovereigns, princes, prime-ministers.”
Anndaataa. The giver of grain. Rekhta translates it as “food-giver, benefactor, supporter, master” and as a “way of addressing a rich or powerful person.”
Sarkaar sarkaar karnaa. To keep saying sarkaar, master. Rekhta defines it in Hindi as flattering too much, saying haan ji, haan ji and following someone around.
Book 5 of the Arthashastra, the ancient treatise on statecraft attributed to Kautilya, has a chapter titled “The Conduct of a Courtier.” It advises: “When asked, he should tell the king what is both good and pleasing, but not what is bad, though pleasing.”
An unwelcome truth has its own channel: “if the king is pleased to listen, he may secretly tell what, though unpleasant, is good.” The chapter adds: “Absence of contradiction from the king will render his position secure.” The translation is by R. Shamasastry.
On October 31, 2013, the Supreme Court decided T.S.R. Subramanian v. Union of India. It held that civil servants “cannot function on the basis of verbal or oral instructions, orders, suggestions, proposals, etc.” Oral directions had to be recorded in writing.
The court added: “If the civil servant is acting on oral directions or dictation of anybody, he will be taking a risk.” The lead petitioner, the former Cabinet Secretary T.S.R. Subramanian, said: “Public servants are not private servants.”
Chennai Super Kings were suspended from the Indian Premier League for two years over the betting and spot-fixing case of 2013. Their captain, M.S. Dhoni, played for Rising Pune Supergiants in 2016 and 2017. In January 2018 CSK retained him for 15 crore rupees.
“A lot of people approached me. I can’t think of not coming back to CSK,” Dhoni said in Chennai. “It is a second home to me.” In 2021 the owner, N. Srinivasan, said: “There is no CSK without Dhoni and there is no Dhoni without CSK.”
Virat Kohli has played for Royal Challengers Bangalore since the first season of the Indian Premier League in 2008. On October 11, 2021, after his last match as the team’s captain, he said: “For me, loyalty matters and my commitment is with this franchise till the last day I play IPL.”
In March 2001 the trade site agencyfaqs! reported why Lintas had not won the Coca-Cola advertising account in India. Coca-Cola wanted Lintas to move Kissan, a Hindustan Lever brand, to an affiliate agency. “HLL won’t agree,” the site wrote. The account went to McCann.
Lowe Lintas gave its own reason: “Unfortunately, this was not possible for reasons of conflict of interest with Hindustan Lever (HLL) brands.” The site added: “Lintas was historically a Unilever agency.”
Iniya ulavaaga innaadha kooral kani iruppak kaai kavarndhatru. This is couplet 100 of the Thirukkural, the classical Tamil book of ethics, the last in its chapter on pleasant words. In G.U. Pope’s translation: “When pleasant words are easy, bitter words to use, / Is, leaving sweet ripe fruit, the sour unripe to choose.”
In December 2022 the Madras High Court directed the Tamil Nadu government to strictly implement an order to include 108 chapters of the Thirukkural in the school curriculum.
Aisi baani boliye, man ka aapa khoi. Apna tan seetal karai, auran kaun sukh hoi. Speak words that free the mind of pride. They cool one’s own body and give comfort to others.
The doha is by the poet-saint Kabir. It appears in “Sakhi,” the first chapter of Sparsh, the NCERT Hindi textbook for Class 10. A popular version ends auran ko sheetal kare, aapahu sheetal hoye: such words cool others, and they cool the speaker too.
In December 1964 a cyclone washed away parts of the Pamban bridge, the railway link between the mainland and the island of Rameswaram. The Railways allowed six months to restore it. E. Sreedharan was put in charge, and his superior cut the deadline to three months.
The bridge was back in 46 days. “The three month job of rebuilding a structure which connected Rameshwaram to the mainland was completed in 46 days,” The News Minute wrote. The Railway minister gave Sreedharan an award.
On July 30, 2024, landslides struck Mundakkai and Chooralmala in Wayanad, Kerala. Soldiers of the Madras Engineer Group began to build a 190-foot Bailey bridge between the two places at 9 a.m. on July 31. “The bridge was ready at 6 pm on August 1,” Onmanorama reported.
Reports differ on how long the work took. Onmanorama’s own times span 33 hours, but its headline said 31. The Week gave 36 hours, and other outlets gave shorter figures.