No 9493, Monday, 30 Mar 09, Nita Jaggi

Monday morning blues again added to the late night return from Coimbatore, my brain just refuses to work on Mondays.
ACROSS
1 - Learn a chapter in the music school (4) - {C}RAM ? (RAM - Royal Academy of Musicians ?)
9 - Greeting in business situations following the favourable lump sum compensation (6,9) – GOLDEN HANDSHAKE [2] Are handshakes done only in business situations?
10 - Indian gathering for the first person in a large city (4) - {ME}LA
11 - Gold coin for the aristocrat (5) – NOBLE [2]
12 - An unpleasant sound over a period of time (4) - [Addendum with help from Orkut community - VILE (~while)]
13 - Overheard of a food shop in the capital city (5) – DELHI (~deli)
14 - Beginner of the basic course (7) – STARTER [CD]
16 - To supply no one in to rush in excitement (7) – {NO}UR{I}SH*
18 - Neckwear on a small bed (5) – {A}S{COT}
22 - Colour found inside a battle cruiser (4) – ECRU [T]
23 - Royal male disturbed in the domain (5) – {R}EALM*
24 - Members in a side (4) – TEAM [CD]
25 - Noted lads absurd in using rules applied unfairly (6,9) – DOUBLE STANDARDS*
26 - Alien turns back on South Island location (4) {S}{I}TE<- DOWN
2 - Spread energy from the sun for one in to have a wrong diet (7) - {RA}DIATE* RA being the Sun God
3 - Soldier at home has the way with ordinary people (3,2,3,6) – MAN IN THE STREET
4 - Game bag on the side (5) - POKE{R} Poke means a sack or a bag in southern US
5 - Painter has books for one scholar (5) - RA{BB}I ?
6 - Public announcements to edit seven diets in a mess (14) – ADVERTISEMENTS* I do not know from where the balance letters MART have appeared, does MART mean a mess?
7 - Pusher to stay very near after us (6) - SH{OVER} ? (Addendum - (us - u)S{HOVER})
8 - Workers having special abilities (7) - SKILLED [2]
15 - Leaders on the chief examination in High School (7) - H{ON}{CH}OS Cannot explain from where the second 'O' comes (Addendum - 'O' from O-level examinations)
17 - Kind of music to sing inside a large bar (6) – R{HUM}BA* This setter uses large as an anagram indicator I think. Rumba is more suited to a kind of dance than music
19 - Not at home in the end to survive (7) – OUT{LAST}
20 - Unwanted material is on a part of the body, overheard (5) – WASTE (~waist)
21 - Father and a large creature (5) – P{AND}A