No 12936, Friday 15 May 2020, Sunnet

Day 52 of 54 Stay safe at home

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ACROSS
1   Perhaps Rose is a foot shorter (6) FLOWER {F}{LOWER}
4   Most wanting to deface Church Street (8) SCARCEST {SCAR}{CE}{ST}
10 Nearly cut woollen top of winter sportsman (3,6) SKI JUMPER {SKIm}{JUMPER}
11 Elite group had a month (1-4) A-TEAM {ATE}{A}{M}

12 Considering everything, sodium stops pain (2,3) IN ALL {I{NA}LL}
13 Divine one found in the middle of special cermony (9) SPIRITUAL {SP}{1}{RITUAL}
14 Lock chased current player (7) ACTRESS {TRESS} after {AC}
16 Entrance exam for admission to post graduate programs (4) GATE [DD]
19 Beauty in conversation with inventor (4) BELL (~belle)
21 Tree company’s business head (7) COCONUT {CO}{CO}{NUT}
24 A police department’s leads for users (4,5) ACID HEADS {A}{CID}{HEADS}
25 Mesh protects one’s corn (5) MAIZE {MA{1}ZE}
26 White as a bird (5) ASHEN {AS}{HEN}
27 Lad is worn out by corona emission (5,4) SOLAR WIND*
28 Place most hope on pipe binding (8) TRUSSING {TRUSt}{SING}
29 Prop tablet on one side (6) PILLAR {PILL}{A}{R}

DOWN
1   Fair to cast last five (8) FESTIVAL*
2   Reactive agents steer individual’s awkward stand (8) OXIDANTS {OX}{1}{STAND*}
3   Just in some qualifiers (5) EQUAL [T]
5   Wanting to lift a statue (7) CARVING C(+a)AR(-a)VING
6   Currency is note and some coin? True (9) REALISTIC {REAL}{IS}{TI}{Coin}
7   Look, especially evacauted flue is converted (6) EYEFUL {Es...lY}{FLUE*}
8   Creator’s abode that is on the face (6) TEMPLE [DD]
9   Fits resort’s message (6) SPASMS {SPA}{SMS}
15 The planes transported large animals (9) ELEPHANTS*
17 One having charge, to avoid Iowa, is not dutiful (8) UNFILIAL {UN}{FIL{IA}L}
18 Page on offer (8) ATTENDER {AT}{TENDER}
20 Worry about single child’s relationship (7) LIAISON {AIL<=}{1}{SON}
21 Expensive colts broke down by the beginning of the year (6) COSTLY {COLTS*}{Year}
22 Jack up rating of Stone (6) BASALT {AB<=}{SALT}

23 Six somehow shun the protector (6) VISHNU {VI}{SHUN*}
25 Bring up odd note placed below image (5) MURTI {RUM<=}{TI}

Reference List
Foot = F, Church = CE, Street = ST, Month = M, Special = SP, Company/Business = CO, Pipe = SING, Side = R, Note = TI, One = UN, Jack = AB

Dr RKE's TalePiece

While on a SPIRITUAL tour of the God's own country during the Onam FESTIVAL season 10 years back, we arrived at the TEMPLE in Thirumittakode one evening. This place, described in ancient Tamil hymns as Thiruviththuvakkodu, is near Pattambi, on the banks of the Bharatapuzha river. It is quite an EYEFUL view to see the COCONUT palms with swaying fronds lining the BASALT paved path from the river to the temple GATE. It is called AnchuMURTI temple as there are 4 VISHNU idols and 1 of Shiva. An ATTENDER from the Dewaswom Board, took us around (of course for a handsome fee). Because it was the festival season, A  TEAM of mahouts from Thrissur had brought half a dozen caparisoned ELEPHANTS. The children in our group were excited about the gentle giants, but the TRUSSING of their legs with iron chains was a pitiable sight to me. 

The CARVING of the Shiva idol was on a stone PILLAR. Lotus FLOWER is the sacred offering to the deity. The huge temple BELL was rung to mark the start of the evening pooja. At the end of the pooja, the priest offered us Tulsi leaves. He then took us aside and like everywhere in Kerala, he offered to sell us Tulsi as an Ayurvedic medicine, rich in antiOXIDANTS. He told us how a Malayalam ACTRESS had been cured of her SPASMS in the gut by taking 5 of those Tulsi leaves daily for a mandalam (48 days). He even offered to send it by courier to our place regularly but, boy, wasn't it COSTLY to pay Rs.5001, for that humble leaf? My wife, ever the REALISTIC, signalled to me not to have any LIAISON with that priest. I recalled the verse from Kulashekara Azhwar, where he professes his undying love and devotion to this Lord, EQUAL to that of a patient to his surgeon. IN ALL, it was a very satisfying trip.