No 13423, Thursday 09 Dec 2021, Lightning

 Solution to 12A 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   Provide an account of damaged rice beds (8) DESCRIBE*

5   Feature of a small spot cut short by artist finally (6) ASPECT {A}{SPECk}{a...sT}

9   Allow taking in small cube with slope (8) GRADIENT {GRA{DIE}NT}

10 Not sure, in shock, working at jail (6) PRISON {surPRISe}{ON}

12 Cutting off supplies is coming back, for example, in Spain (5) S?E?E (Addendum - SIEGE {IS<=}{EG}{E} - See comments)

13 Self-employed person to get rid of weapon (9) FREELANCE {FREE}{LANCE}

14 Group with appeal for armed robber (6) BANDIT {BAND}{IT}

16 As is crane disposed (7) ARSENIC*

19 Second side with hesitation gets cooking device (7) STEAMER {S}{TEAM}{ER}

21 Artist carried by animal in African city (6) HARARE {HA{RA}RE}

23 Colour can dry in a bad way — alarm raised (3,3,3) HUE AND CRY {HUE}{CAN+DRY}*

25 Small part of song cut short by European (5) TRACE {TRACk}{E}

26 Smash hit, breakthrough victory not out of limits (6) WITHIN {W{HIT*}IN}

27 A little bit tired, let loose verbal attack (8) DIATRIBE {A+BIt+TIRED}*

28 Understands king in tragedy at northern Sweden (6) LEARNS {LEAR}{N}{S}

29 Control auditor’s favourite animal (8) REINDEER {REIN}{DEER}(~dear)

DOWN

1   Break down short story (6) DIGEST [DD]

2   Beer may at first break say a deadlock (9) STALEMATE  {ALE}{May} in {STATE}

3   Lacking primary approval for pay hike (5) RAISE pRAISE

4   Perk suitable to go around New England (7) BENEFIT {BE{N}{E}FIT}

6   Annoyed rookie destroyed rose — one may not be gracious (4,5) SORE LOSER {SORE}{L}{ROSE*}

7   Dress entertainer smuggled to European city (5) ESSEN [T]

8   Lacking acceleration, can’t deny Englishman changes inclination (8) TENDENCY {CaNT+DENY+E}*

11 Gamble on a Greek letter (4) BETA {BET}{A}

15 Perhaps X-men following lady at Mumbai suburb (9) DIMENSION {MEN}<=>{DI} and {SION}

17 Story of a king and queen carried by countryman (9) NARRATIVE {N{A}{R}{R}ATIVE} 

18 Avoidance of oriental cashew left at sea (8) ESCHEWAL {E+CASHEW+L}*

20 Where essentially a vehicle spins around and goes ahead? (4) RACE {whEre}{CAR}<= Semi&lit

21 Transfer a small amount of money upfront — it becomes chaotic (7) HAYWIRE {WIRE}<=>{HAY}

22 Setter on small hill taking in final glimpse of shooting star (6) METEOR {ME}{g...sE}{TOR}

24 Vex traffickers smuggling more than usual (5) EXTRA [T]

25 Bird — a national legend of great importance (5) TITAN {TIT}{A}{N}

Reference List

Spain = E, Appeal = IT, Second = S, Artist = RA, European = E, Northern = N, Sweden = S, New = N, England = E, Rookie = L, Accelaration = A, Englishman = E, Lady = DI, King = R, Queen = R, Left = L, Small hill = TOR, National = N

TalePiece

By Dr RKE

In today’s NARRATIVE, I am going to DESCRIBE some ASPECTs of the events that happened 270 years back at the Rock Fort, in what was then known as Trichinopoly. This place, which is a stone’s throw from my residence, is steeped in history. In 1749, in the Battle of Ambur, Nawab Anwaruddin Khan of Arcot fell to the superior French forces of Dupleix. Before dying he told his son, crown prince Muhammed Khan Walajah, “BETA, you have to avenge my death and teach a lesson to that BANDIT, Chanda Sahib. He has a TENDENCY to align with the French. You go south, RAISE an army with British help. You will also BENEFIT from the enmity between Chanda sahib and the Marathas of Tanjore”.   The dying Nawab also let out a DIATRIBE against Hyder Ali, who had sided with the French, but the young Muhammed Khan didn’t stay to hear it. He had to flee before he could be put in PRISON by Chanda Sahib.

Muhammed Khan Walajah took refuge WITHIN the fort at Trichinopoly. Chanda’s informers TRACEd Muhammed’s hideout and with the EXTRA reinforcement from the French, Chanda soon laid a SIEGE at the Rock Fort. The walls of the Rock Fort were impregnable and Khan with a small British troop managed to keep bringing in supplies secretly through the Cauvery River that skirts the fort. The supplies were supposedly pushed up the GRADIENT of the river stashed under the corpses being brought to the cremation ground between the river and the fort. The STALEMATE continued for a whole year.

A new DIMENSION was added when Stringer Lawrence took over the forces of the East India Company in 1751. He sent Robert Clive to break the siege of Trichinopoly. Instead of proceeding to Trichinopoly, the brilliant strategist Clive instead first sent a tiny troop to occupy Arcot, as it had been left undefended by Chanda Saheb. Chanda Sahib, unable to DIGEST losing his capital, was forced to detach 4000 of his siege troops at Trichinopoly and he proceeded to reclaim Arcot.  The depleted siege troop, under the command of the dithering French General Law, went HAYWIRE on being assaulted by Lawrence and Clive, one on each flank.  In two days of fierce battle in April of 1752, the siege was broken and Clive entered the fort victoriously. Law and Chanda’s forces fled to the island of Srirangam, taking refuge in the massive Tiruvanaikoil temple, as strong as a fortress. This occupation of a Hindu temple by the French and Muslims, provoked the Marathas of Tanjore, who, aided by the British, negotiated a treaty of surrender from Chanda Sahib. With Arcot and Trichy gone from his hold, the SORE LOSER Chanda Sahib was a dejected man. He was beheaded 2 months later by the Marathas, who violated the terms of surrender.

Thus, the RACE between the French and the English for supremacy in the South was decisively won by Clive. Clive’s METEORic rise continued for two decades but this TITAN of a general was finally impeached for his avaricious gain of personal wealth in India and died by slitting his jugular with a penknife in 1774.