Saturday 15 August 2020

No 13015, Saturday 15 Aug 2020, Hypatia

Independence day greetings to all. An Independence Day Special clue acrostic with an Indian theme from Hypatia to celebrate it.

ACROSS
8   Incorporating many things exotic, diverse area overlooking South East (6) VARIED {DIVERse+A*}
9   Nomenclature of multiple beliefs and Gods in place (around 51) (8) RELIGION {RE{LI}GION}
10 Dr. No is oddly disrupting power at this late hour (8) MIDNIGHT {MI{Dr No Is}GHT}
11 Initially, all executive committee members on a plane (6) ABOARD {All}{BOARD}
12 Apparently large warren or mouse burrow (8) ENORMOUS (T)
13 Sluggishness of a desi husband, say? (6) APATHY {~ A PATI}
14 It’s sweet gospel music performed without mischievous imps (7) GLUCOSE {GOspEL+mUSiC*}
17 Netas, essentially encroaching, bust law (7) STATUTE {STATU{neTas}E}
20 Dancing wild a cherished Indian celebration? (6) DIWALI {WILD+A*} around {I}
22 Emperor’s China jar, a hammer displayed in retrospective (8) MAHARAJA (T<=)
25 “Permit car,” shouted Spooner in travel fatigue (3,3) JET LAG {(-l+J)ET (-j+L)AG}
26 End of the world feeling returns around dead, for instance (8) DOOMSDAY {MOOD<=}{S{D}AY}
27 Novel began describing a princess in playful talk (8) BADINAGE {BEGAN*} around {A}{DI}
28 Dilliwala, say in retirement, backing local clubs (6) INDIAN Anno not clear (Addendum - {IN{AID<=}N - See comments)

DOWN
1   Exchanging rupee for primary needs is reasonable, countrywide (8) NATIONAL {(-r+Needs)ATIONAL
 No loser changed to new model in this season (6) WINNER {WIN(-t+N)ER}
3   Commercial silver outlets to increase online, slowly (6) ADAGIO {AD}{AG}{Increase}{Online}
4   English baron wearing Indian shirt (7) BRITISH {B}{I+SHIRT*}
5   Delightful worker in farm bordering lake (8) PLEASANT {P}L}EASANT}
6   Ascending soldier met soldier below — neither partner was unacquainted (8) IGNORANT {GI<=}{NOR}{ANT}
7   Yelled out to one in quarters (6) FOURTH {~FORTH}
15 Silent comedian captivates a minister (8) CHAPLAIN {CHAPL{A}IN}
16 Part of wandering stream moved below fish (8) STINGRAY {ST{-ray}ING(+RAY)}
18 Excited jam at hall closing before memorial (3,5) TAJ MAHAL {JAM+AT+HALl*}
19 Counter name say, fades a little bit (7) SMIDGEN {N}{EG}{DIMS}<=
21 It melts from peaks of intensely cold environs, chiefly at poles (3,3) ICE CAP (Acrostic)
23 Asked question about Islamic festival for clothing covering head (6) HOODIE {~WHO}{EID<=}
24 Live tour entertains best, essentially (6) RESIDE {R{bESt}IDE}

Reference List

Area=A, South East=SE, 51=LI, Indian=I, Dead=D, Princess=Di, Rupee=R, New=N, Model=T, Commercial=AD, Silver=Ag, Baron=I, Lake=L, Soldier=GI, Soldier=Ant

Colour/Font Scheme

DefinitionSolutionComponent lettersEmbedded linksTheme word Anagram IndicatorC/C indicatorReversal IndicatorHidden word IndicatorLetter Pick indicatorDeletion IndicatorHomophone IndicatorMovement IndicatorPositional IndicatorSubstitution, IndicatorOpposite indicatorLink/Connector, Extraneous


Dr RKE's TalePiece

“Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny…At the stroke of the MIDNIGHT hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom” said Jawaharlal Nehru addressing the Constituent Assembly on the eve of India’s independence. The BRITISH Union Jack was lowered and the INDIAN Tricolour hoisted at the Red Fort as the ENORMOUS crowd rapturously roared “Bharat Mata ki Jai”. People of VARIED RELIGIONS and communities came together in a true NATIONAL spirit to celebrate the festival, bigger than any DIWALI.

In the days that followed some MAHARAJAs voluntarily gave up their kingdoms and joined the Indian Union, while others were forced by public opinion or gently  pressured by Sardar Patel; those who still had APATHY in coming ABOARD had to be arm twisted. Of course, there were some Englishmen who made DOOMSDAY predictions about a free India and others who felt that the rule of the STATUTE would never prevail when the Englishman quits India. The supercilious ones among them were IGNORANT enough to think that the TAJ MAHAL was just a over-hyped marble grave and that all the literature and lore of the Orient was only a SMIDGEN compared to the knowledge and majesty contained in a single row of books that RESIDE in a British Library shelf (Macaulay). Gandhi, known for his PLEASANT BADINAGE, puckish humour and gift of the repartee had effectively countered such boastful thinking earlier. Once when asked “what do you think of Western civilization”, Gandhi had replied “I think that would be a good idea”. Gandhi held that making the right diagnosis is three-FOURTHs of the treatment. Successive generations of leaders have followed this prescription to rid the society of the many ills that plagued it in 1947.

If 74 years down the line India has always come out the WINNER, it is because of the GLUCOSE of the national spirit that was infused by its great leaders at the time of its birth. We salute them all on this eventful day. Jai Hind.

27 comments:

  1. 28a clubs is containment indicator.
    Backing:aid
    Local: inn

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  2. Paddy's query answered , THC for once with a human touch!
    Thanks hypatia.

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    Replies
    1. Seeing Hypatia again today gave enough hint that it will certainly be a special.
      Thanks Hypatia

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    2. Yes. Agreed. TH alert this time.
      Enjoyed the special. Thank you Hypatia and so thoughtful of you and very well done.

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  3. What more can an Indian and a crossword buff want? An independence day super puzzle followed by a tale piece commemorating the day. Thank you Hypatia, Thank you Dr. RKE.

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  4. Thank you Hypatia for a nice puzzle

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  5. Still enjoying the CW and the apt Tale Piece. Savouring the Best on a Nostalgic Day.
    Thank you Hypatia & Dr.RKE.

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  6. Nice themed puzzle. APATHY, NATIONAL, ADAGIO were favourites. I thought NATIONAL, VARIED RELIGION also fit the theme of India. Thanks, Hypatia, Dr RKE and Ramesh.

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  7. Yes,I forgot to mention Ramesh. He did justice to the puzzle and its theme. We are lucky indeed.

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  8. +1 for Ramki's request for inclusion.

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  9. Statute may also be added to the theme.

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  10. Happy Independence Day to all the blog visitors. Thank you all for your kind comments.

    This grid was done in April and I was hoping it would be published around Independence Day. Thanks to the special gesture by CV sir and the TH crossword desk for printing it on the 15th itself It will now be part of my cherished memories as a setter:)

    Kudos to Ramesh for the painstaking presentation highlighting theme words as well as the Clue Acrostic. Enjoyed his attention to detail, including the flag colours for the text in the introduction.

    RKE’s tale piece reads so well as though we had discussed and pulled this off together. To first solve the grid and then make a very engaging, connected story filled with theme words so it can be published along with the main post itself, is no mean task and he does it every time to perfection.

    Last but most importantly, thanks again to Colonel for the blog. Since it’s an off day, hopefully more solvers will be here to solve, check answers and share their feedback and I look forward to hearing from them.

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    Replies
    1. The best touches to the blog (flag colours & the bolded acrostic clue headers) were given by Col.

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    2. Thanks Colonel. Makes it stand out clearly :)

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    3. Thanks for the special clue. It's a memorable one and Dr.RKE's tale piece makes extra effect.

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  11. Great job Hypatia. Thanks

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  12. Happy lndependence Day to ye -all.

    Amazing grid formation. Kudos to Ramesh
    for highlighting the theme. Very commendable tale piece by Dr. RKE. Where do they get the time and patience to beat the time line of 830 am ? I reckon, with the desi theme in mind,cryptic liberty thàt has been taken by HyPÀTIa by using PATI for desi husband is to be winked at ?

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  13. If pati and patni don't stay in complete harmony, woe will result.

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  14. Nice theme. Given Hypatia’s grid was out of sequence , I was looking for an India theme. Great talepiece from RKE. He has actually fitted more words into the theme

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  15. Poor Pathi - my fav clue , National Adagio Religion very nice clues. Enjoyed solving the grid Soms 👌😃

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    Replies
    1. Nice to see you here after a long time LV. Thanks for the feedback 🙏

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