As I had mentioned in the regular post of today, I am reiterating the same here.
Gridman who is undoubtedly the most liked and revered setter among all the setters for The Hindu Crosswords, besides being the longest serving setter. It is unfortunate for all of us that he had to take this decision due to health issues. We will definitely miss him as a setter but I am sure he will continue to guide us with his comments.
Please do leave a comment in the comments section about your interactions with him as also anything else that you wuld like to add.
Gridman aka Chaturvasi aka CV has been the pillar of The Hindu Crosswords and each and every one of us will miss his Crosswords.
I on behalf of all of us respect his decision and wish him all the best for the years to come.
Will miss him.Enjoyed his crossword immensely
ReplyDeleteWishing him good health
Can we have your name please
DeleteWish him a speedy recovery. Though we miss him on THC, I sure hope we could see him around on sunday specials.
ReplyDeleteMet him in personal interaction at Chennai meet and got to know the well rounded personality behind the pseudonym.
There were times I had summary dismissals and times pat on back for out of the way anno's but I always wait eagerly for his comment.
Very rarely we get to see people with brilliance in the technic and skill plus the passion and sense of ownership of the tradecraft.
To me CV Sir is a guide, mentor,friend as he has been to many people. We had numerous interactions over mails, social media and here at THCC. He is not only a beloved setter but a litterateur having written many stories and translated many stories and novels from Tamil to English.
ReplyDeleteI wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back as a commenter and setter.
A personal thing: my sister lives in Chennai and had met CV Sir and his wife for something or the other related to crosswords at behest of me..she got on famously along with both of them..particularly with Gita mam who is a polyglot and can speak Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Gujarati and Bengali.
DeleteIt was my favorite to solve Gridman crosswords after Sankalak. I am going to miss now. Thanks a lot for entertaining all these days. My best wishes and wish you good health.
ReplyDeleteAdvertise with Apple operating system (5)
Too early to say that
DeleteYes, Sankalak and Gridman were the best. Why doesn't the Hindu publish a book of all his puzzles?
DeleteWishing Gridman a speedy recovery! I hope he’ll bounce back soon.
ReplyDeleteMy first interaction with him was over five or six years ago through email, to get a copy of one of his translated works. Over the past six months it was more frequent as I took his guidance to realise my dream of setting a crossword. He has been quick, prompt and candid in his feedback on my efforts, encouraging me at the same time with suggestions and ideas. He took it upon himself to put in proper format the clues I set for the solutions he so kindly and readily provided, and send them to Col. Gopinath. I was planning to meet him but could not. I sincerely pray for his quick recovery and look forward to seeing him in person soon.
ReplyDeleteGridman has been the most prolific setter among all of us. We hold him in high regard for his literary skills and his love for the English verse came through in all his crosswords. Many of our young friends here took up compiling crosswords because of his encouragement and active support.
ReplyDeleteI pray to God he gets well soon
I like solvinga CV Sir's crosswords. His clues were tantalizing.
ReplyDeleteA facet of him I liked a lot is he has wide knowledge of Tamil literary scene.
We will miss his grids in The Hindu.
Praying God that he regains good health soon.
I have reason to be personally grateful to CV Sir. When I made a hesitant remark that I may try my hand at setting, may be with help from someone like CV Sir, pat came the reply: yes, I am ready to help.
ReplyDeleteThere are many people who excel in their chosen field, like CV Sir in crosswords; but how many are willing to groom others? It is possible only for good- hearted people like him.
It was because of him that my first (only) grid saw the light of the day.
I deeply appreciate his generosity in helping people grow.
His grids are solver friendly, his comments in the blog are instructive and corrective.
I wish him a speedy recovery from whatever I’ll-health that has disabled ( temporarily, I hope) him to be back to his normal routine. None the less, we respect his decision, whatever, as he knows better.
Wish him all the best of the season.
I consider myself very fortunate to have become friends with CV Sir over the years. We have exchanged several phone calls, emails interacting in detail about several aspects of cryptic crosswords. It has been a pleasure to share thoughts about all the technical aspects of clues. Along the course, we have also discussed about life beyond the world of crosswords. I found CV Sir to be an extraordinarily well-read gentleman with excellent knowledge of English literature.
ReplyDeleteTo say CV Sir is a legend is of course an understatement. His contribution and service in the field of cryptic crosswords is unparalleled. I am proud to have been his co-setter, not just for TH but also for the Indian Crossword League and the national inter-school contest CCCCC. I remember a year when Col Gopinath Sir was not available for IXL and it came down to CV Sir and myself to check every crossword for IXL. It was great fun to read his pithy observations about clues.
I met CV Sir in Chennai for THCC Meet and also in Bangalore for IXL Finals. I treasure those moments of face-to-face interaction. It was lovely to share a drink and shoot the breeze.
I hope to meet CV Sir in Chennai (perhaps for a THCC meet) soon after he has completely recovered.
Till then, thanks CV Sir for all the fun!
We all would miss his puzzles...always looked forward to it ... kind of resonated with my thinking.
ReplyDeleteFor me CV sir is my all time favorite. I am too lucky that I got an opportunity to interact with CV sir in this blog. His suggestions and comments were too useful. In fact I learned many things from his comment. I used to read all comments by Gridman as and when I opened this blog. As said By Doc.X I will try to meet CV sir during THCC S&B meet. With grace of god he may get well soon. Hope we will meet soon.
ReplyDeleteWishing Gridman a speedy recovery. Will miss his puzzles. Dev Bare Koron.
ReplyDeleteHere's hoping CV Sir feels better soon!
ReplyDeleteApart from crossword-setting, I have also interacted with him about crossword-related software. Indeed, he has offered some nice suggestions that have gone into improving my Exolve software.
Wishing CV sir a very speedy recovery. Definitely looking forward to him getting back to guiding us with his comments, and also his witty remarks. As has been the case with many of us, he opened the doors for me to start setting crosswords for TH, and he would never shy away from sending emails about any feedback which felt would help me.
ReplyDeleteOn a personal note, got to know a lot more about him in the gathering for his 70th birthday, and few other S&B meets. Hoping that he will be able to grace us on some of these occasions in future.
Wishing CV sir, the gridman good and complete recovery. Enjoyed his grids, comments in this blog and in 1Across FB group. Hoping to get an opportunity to meet and greet him in person after his health improves up along with others in the group. Best wishes..
ReplyDeleteCV sir, is a source of encouragement, inspiration for many crossword solvers. Sir's puzzles are so enjoyable that they make the solvers crave for more. I wish him speedy recovery to guide many more aspiring setters.
ReplyDeleteI had the occassion to speak to him a few days ago after he returned home. Was happy to note the same enthusiasm that I have always seen in him. Wishing him all the very best in whatever he would like to do, be it crossword setting, mentoring new setters, translating stories and ... translating songs (his latest venture mentioned just a few days back). He used to regularly call me up and I enjoyed every moment of my interaction with him as we share some common vibes.
ReplyDeleteQuite a large number of TH setters are here (myself included) due to his guidance. Hoping to see him in person soon...
CV Sir is one of my earliest crossword friends. I met him first on the THC Orkut community 14 years ago when it was not publicly known that Chaturvasi was Gridman. His crossword knowledge and skill shone through soon, despite his attempt at disguise - Chaturvasi was no Clark Kent!
ReplyDeleteGridman/Chaturvasi's devotion and contribution to the field of crosswords is truly unmatched. He has also been an enthusiastic contributor to Crossword Unclued in various roles - as commenter, guest poster, critic, supporter. For that I am ever grateful.
I wish CV Sir a speedy recovery and hope to see him back in cruciverbal action soon.
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ReplyDeleteThis is so sad. There isn’t much I can add to all that’s been said till now. Rightly so, Sankalak and Gridman set the best crosswords.
ReplyDeleteI can understand health issues, being a victim myself. My best wishes to Gridman for a long relaxed issue-free life!
This is so sad. There isn’t much I can add to all that’s been said till now. Rightly so, Sankalak and Gridman set the best crosswords.
ReplyDeleteI can understand health issues, being a victim myself. My best wishes to Gridman for a long relaxed issue-free life!
My association with CV Sir is nearing two decades. It started with Orkut blog where he regularly guided us in interpreting cryptic clues and we thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of his knowledge. He has been a Guru for all the setters here and will remain so forever. He has always been a "cryptic" teacher for all of us in Orkut and most of them become setters in course of time.
ReplyDeleteMy solving skills have very much improved, only because of him, I can proudly admit. I used to solve the clues without knowing how to annotate difficult ones. Only with his training, I understood the tricks of the trade (or the profession, we can call it).
Once I solved a cryptic clue which won laurels from him and he conferred the title "ARTBIGBEAD" on me. That was really a confidence booster for me. I still have the text of his message. I had spoken to him on many occasions but never had a chance so far to see him in person. I only look forward to the S&B meeting in Chennai soonest.
I am ever grateful to him because he was instrumental in recommending my name to the Hindu’s setters’ panel. CV Sir, my sincere thanks to you.
I too will be very much distressed to miss his grids but keeping his health in mind, we all must allow him to take rest as much as possible. He underwent surgeries and needs rest absolutely. I am sure he will always be open for telephonic talks (he prefers them to writing mails)
Let us all wish him a complete recovery and pray God to bless us to see him “fit as a fiddle”
He is our mentor. I have learnt a lot about solving & setting crosswords.
ReplyDeleteIt was very nice to talk to you over phone sir. Though you have frail health, your enthusiasm towards crosswords & that joke you shared with me says that you are still young at heart. Hope to see your grids again after a break.
Wish CV Sir speedy recovery. Not being part of any English crossword circles in the internet I learnt many years later that he had introduced my Tamil puzzles to others.
ReplyDeleteI have exchanged a few emails with him about Tamil crossword puzzles. The interactions were always pleasant and showed his generosity. He never behaved to show himself as a person of great accomplishments. I hope he'd be back if not regularly at least occasionally.
I first met Gridman in 2014 just before the IXL final. Honestly, I had not even seen many of his grids till then, since I used to solve the Hindu only rarely. (Since then I have not missed any of his grids, and am now able to guess "it's a Gridman puzzle" even without a byline!)
ReplyDeleteIn the first meeting itself I was awed by his deep knowledge of cryptics. As I interacted with him more over mails, chats and many S&B / IXL meetings, I was amazed at his humility, and childlike curiosity for learning new things -even with 1000's of grids under his belt, he was always open to seeking feedback on how they could be improved. He is more than willing to share his experience and coach new setters and solvers. I (and many others in this group) owe thanks to him for having inducted us into the Hindu panel of setters.
My prayers for his speedy recovery to good health. Though he may retire from setting for the Hindu, I am sure he will continue to be involved with this group as a mentor.
When I first started to solve crosswords in The Hindu, it was Sankalak's and Gridman's puzzles that I found the most satisfying. The clues were clear and crisp and unfailingly fair. It's only later that I began to appreciate the skill that goes into puzzle setting and my respect for Gridman has only grown over the years. He has set the standard against which I measure other setters' puzzles. Through this blog, he has clarified obscure points, arbitrated in disagreements, drawn attention to THC's history. Thank you, Gridman, for playing this exemplary role and for the hours of delight over the years. I wish you good health and cheer.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteMy prayers for Gridman's speedy recovery. Enjoyed his Crosswords.
Young at heart and highly spirited and active person that he is, I am certain that he will recover and will be active on the crossword front even if he doesn't set any on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteOrtho Paul
ReplyDeleteLoved solving Gridman CW. When I started I used to do only his CWs. Later when my ability improved I started venturing into others. Wishing you godspeed sir.
Bravo! What a record innings from Gridman. His grids have made many a budding solver persist with solving, instead of giving up early. I want to thank him for the encouragement he gave me to do the Tale Piece in the past. Wishing him good health and happiness.
ReplyDeleteLoved solving the CWs set by GRIDMAN. You will be missed very much, Sir.
ReplyDeleteWish you Good health and Happiness.
I had the good fortune of personally meeting him during IXL Finals in 2014. His simplicity and humility shone through. Of course we all will miss grids henceforth. Here's wishing him the best of health. Thanks CV Sir for entertaining us for the past so many years.
ReplyDeleteGridman - will miss your elegant clues sir.
ReplyDeleteMy prayers for gridmans speedy recovery. Hope he will come back soon
ReplyDeleteA sad moment for lovers of crosswords. The word “doyen” comes to mind . Fifty years of active involvement, well respected outside India - words may not do justice. Chatur Vasi sir was instrumental in recommending my name to the Hindu though we had never met. Speaks volumes of him who judged me only by my few contributions in blogs and online forums. I join everyone in wishing him speedy recovery . Hopefully he will be fit enough to provide his objective insights in this blog . Avtaar
ReplyDeleteIn his retirement, We miss our favourite setter. We pray for his good health. Namaskar
ReplyDelete"Gridman" is my favorite setter. Will surely miss him.my best wishes to him.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear that we won't see any more puzzles by Gridman. It was such a pleasure to be able to actually solve a major part of the puzzles set by Sankalak or Gridman. I wish him all the best for a speedy recovery, and whatever else he may next take up.
ReplyDeleteCVji has been the inspiration for so many of us who graduated to setting for THC. Without his encouragement I do not think I would ever have become a setter.
ReplyDeleteI hope that CVji quickly gets better and gets back to his setting duties. Looking forward to more crosswords from his pen.
THC without Gridman won't just be the same. When I was new to solving, I've had many interesting discussions on several clues of various setters and these interactions greatly helped me understand how cryptic crosswords worked. He was always open to hearing out others' perspective before sharing his own views politely and earnestly.
ReplyDeleteHis random clue writing exercises on this very same blog inspired me and perhaps many other solvers to take up setting. His patient, elaborate and encouraging reviews on each and every one of the clues were greatly helpful. I am really thankful to CV for giving me an opportunity to set for THC.
I am seriously hoping that Gridman will be setting crosswords for THC, really soon.
Will always be grateful to CV sir for his guidance and motivation in getting me to seriously pursue setting for THC after my initial attempts on the blog. Prolific is the term for his contributions to the Indian crossword community. I was lucky to have also had him attend my music concerts in Chennai, it was always a pleasure to share more than one interest with someone. He can be seen frequenting the concerts of many youngsters. My prayers for a speedy recovery.
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