No 9734, Thursday 07 Jan 10, Neyartha

Note: Solutions to starred clues, which carry no direct definition, are all desolate areas.

ACROSS
1 - A poor man’s train reservation? (5,5) - THIRD CLASS [CD] No longer there in Indian railways
6 - Complacent criminals’ mugshots concealed (4) - SMUG [T]
10 - Brick ovens left outside by a female relative (9) - {KI(-l)NS}{WOMAN}
11 - *Crew going back to the Iberia Airlines flight (5) - {NAM<-}{IB}

12 - Funny card starts fan with decorative design (4,3,6) - ARTS AND CRAFTS*
14 - Admits and lets the two students out to capture the vandals’ chief (5) - A(-ll+v)VOWS
15 - Uses emery with force on the rock (9) - {SANDS}{TONE} Very common in Rajasthani construction

17 - Subordinate saints sat straight (9) - ASSISTANT*
21 - Cut grain (5) - SHRED [CD]
22 - In a state of indisposition, lush henna site is destroyed (13) - UNHEALTHINESS*
24 - Right to replace new butter maker making a trilling sound (5) - CHUR{-n+r)R
25 - Avail bets in order to get examples of a grammatical case (9) - ABLATIVES*
26 - *It is hot inside the desert retreat (4) - T{H}AR <- )
27 - Prison officers with combat apparels (10) - {WAR}{DRESSES}
DOWN
1 - *Brown garb of monk imprisoned by king of Karnataka (10) - TA{K}{LAMA}{KA}N
2 - ICE mechanisms that may lead to some firing (9) - IGNITIONS [DD]
3 - Auditor’s party with drinks and turkey wattles (7) - (~do){DEW}{LAPS}
4 - Greek character (chief of scientists) identifies some subatomic particles (7) - LAMBDA{S}
5 - *Cheap gifts missed by baffled annotators (7) - SONORAN(-tat)*
7 - Frenchman expels student groups with childhood illness (5) - (-l+m)MUMPS
8 - *Indigo birds smuggled inside (4) - GOBI*
9 - Drop around to box iron bayonets (6) - KNI{FE}S <- )
13 - See! Dogs sit when trained by some scientists (10) - GEODESISTS*
16 - Speaker’s time on vessel at sea to tell who we are (9) - (~hour){OUR}{SELVES*}
18 - *Ash creatively used by a British painter (6) - {SAH*}{A}{RA}
19 - *The catamaran at sea has no British sailors (7) - ATACAMA(-rn)*
20 - Figured as beyond repair in the U.S. (7) - TOTALED [DD]
21 - Kind of bug found in a body fluid (7) - SPITTLE [DD]

22 - Dangerous rays from uranium in revolutionary Capone’s mouth organ (5) - {UV}{U}{LA<-} )
23 - European who may get freed on acquittal? (4) - SCOT [DD]

GRID