No 12987, Tuesday 14 Jul 2020, Gridman

Solution to 18D has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only by a non-regular/novice commenter, with proper annotation. Those who have answered earlier in the week, please give others a chance.

ACROSS
1   Tense and disheartened student called on the old phone (6,2) STRUNG UP {St...nT}{RUNG UP} 'on the old phone' could be done away with.
6   Hand principal’s first donation (4) PALM {Pr...l}{ALM}
9   Messenger caught in union movement (6) NUNCIO {NUN{C}IO*}
10 Cover for modern musician suggested (7) WRAPPER (~rapper)
13 It may be given to a music patron after ‘full house’ (5,4) EXTRA SEAT [CD]
14 First kaidi owned primarily indigenous homespun fabric (5) KHADI {Ka..i}{HAD}{In...s}
15 Sentimental message cut short (4) TWEE TWEEt
16 Follow, with hesitation, follow policeman’s assistant (7,3) TRACKER DOG {TRACK}{ER}{DOG}
19 Stay back! The rubbish’s to be removed! (6,2,2) REFUSE TO GO [DD]
21 Each cocktail is extra (4) PERK {PER}{cocK}
24 Desi resident abroad gets a new instrument (5) PIANO {PI{A}{N}O}
25 Become part of calculated retention (5,4) ENTER INTO*
26 Kiss twice every other part of formal dress (7) NECKTIE {NECK}{TwIcE}
27 Beats brothers unhesitatingly and badly (6) THROBS BROTHerS*
28 Unusual file extension? Save at last (4) RARE {.RAR}{savE}
29 Elderly comic entertains old singer (8) YODELLER {Y{O}DELLER*}

DOWN
2   Active tester admits top custodian (7) TRUSTEE {TR{U}STEE*}
3   Lot’s stripped, boy’s bare (6) UNCLAD {bUNCh}{LAD}
4   Bottler, go around and travel widely (5-4) GLOBE-TROT*
5   Pet endlessly with no-hard bird (5) PEWIT {PEt}{WITh}

7   A very soft song in praise (7) APPLAUD {A}{PP}{LAUD}
8   It is tied to make a union in India (8,4) MARRIAGE KNOT [CD]
11 Ornament — is that for a low joint’s model? (6) ANKLET {ANKLE}{T}
12 Dear, stationery item perhaps (6,6) LETTER OPENER [DD]
17 Thought company is shaken, having lost the head (9) COGITATED {CO}{aGITATED}
18 Conduct key sorts endlessly (6) ?S?O?T (Addendu - ESCORT - {ESC}{sORTs} - See comments))
20 Blunt about first railway goods carrier (4,3) FLAT CAR {FLAT}{CA}{Ra...y}

22 Men on! So able! But no heads! Need is to elevate (7) ENNOBLE {mEN}{oN}{sO}{aBLE}
23 Short cry by eminence relating to the leg (6) CRURAL {CRy}{URAL}
25 Mineral got by engineers with railway (5) EMERY {EME}{RY}

Reference List
Caught = C, Hesitation = ER, New = N, Old = O, Top = U, Hard = H, Very = V, Soft = P, Model = T, Key = ESC, About = CA, Engineers = EME(Electrical and Mechanical Engineers), Railway = RY

Dr RKE's TalePiece

It was a RARE kind of wedding that I attended once in Long Beach, California. My brother’s daughter Arundhati Narayanan, a software engineer in a Silicon Valley company was engaged to be married to Phil EMERY, a colleague.  The wedding was held in 2 parts on the open beach.

The first part was a traditional Hindu affair. Marigold flowers and mango leaves (sourced from Florida!) were STRUNG UP in the open arch erected behind the dais. The groom was looking bewildered, wearing a KHADI dhoti and kurta with an angavastra that flapped in the beach wind,  but he kept smiling bravely. After tying the MARRIAGE KNOT around her neck, he held Arundhati’s hand in his cupped PALM and took the traditional seven rounds awkwardly around a red lamp (that substituted for holy fire). Unlike in weddings in India, where noise reigns, the only sound was the lapping of the waves and the call of some PEWITs in the distance. The pundit  (who had driven down from San Jose) finished in about 10 minutes the ceremonies, which should have taken 2 hours back in India. The chanting of the ENNOBLIng mantras took exactly 4 minutes, with the emcee (Arundhati’s friend) explaining in American English about the import of the rites in the rest of the 6 minutes for the benefit of the bridegroom’s family.  I saw the photographer repeatedly focusing on things that caught his fancy, such as the shining silver ANKLET, toe rings and mehndi of the bride, the painted earthen pots and the trays of sweets and fruits in cellophane WRAPPER.  Anyway, there was none of the TWEE drama that his Indian counterparts would have loved capturing on candid camera.

For the second part, the groom retreated to a cabana, where he changed into a formal suit for the Christian ceremony, complete with a NECKTIE. Arundati who had changed into a white bridal gown, was ESCORTed by 2 little bridesmaids. A Catholic priest in robes like a NUNCIO, appeared, as the music system played a PIANO piece. My brother nudged me and said “this is the Wedding March of Mendelssohn” as if it made any difference to me. The wedding arranger had to bring in some EXTRA SEATs to accommodate a group of  Phil’s friends. The priest made an elaborate act of opening a sealed cover with a silver LETTER OPENER, pulled out 2 sheets of paper and presented it to the bride and groom. They exchanged the prenup papers (which, I learnt later, was short for pre-nuptial contract) before exchanging rings and saying the “I do” stuff. Phil PERKed up when the priest said. “Son, you may now kiss the beautiful bride, A-roon-day-tee”. Phil’s lips were glued to hers for an eternity and he simply REFUSEd TO let GO off her. Phil’s friends APPLAUDed all the way, but we from Arundhati’s family, not used to such a public display of love, looked at each other embarrassed. Most of them quickly departed from the scene before the champagne was uncorked and a rocking party began.

They went on a GLOBE-TROTting honeymoon for the next 4 weeks. The Hindu Gods and the Christian Angels must have blessed them well, in that beach ceremony that evening. Is that what makes Phil’s heart THROB for Arundhati with ever-increasing fervor, to this day, 10 years later- unusually long by American standards.