Solution to 3D 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 Rural America taken over by resistance movement (6) RUSTIC {R}{US}{TIC}
5 How to get a seat on a cruise (3,2,3) OUT AT SEA {A+SEAT}* [RA]
9 Make perfect Indian rice cakes stuffed with shelled peas set in the middle (8) IDEALISE {ID{pEAs}LIS}{sEt}
13 Focus of Karl Heinrich Marx’s letters of some religious significance (4) INRI
23 Sooner than expected ... or later? (2,4) IN TIME [C&DD]
24 One popular girl, bored by monotonous revolutionary is playing a trick (8) ILLUDING {1}{DULL<=}{IN}{G}
25 Female slaves in Turkey load skis on a trek (8) ODALISKS*
26 Who cares how evenly steaks get barbecued? (2,4) SO WHAT {HOW+sTeAkS}
DOWN
2 Language from old city near the centre of Honduras (4) URDU {UR}{honDUras}
3 This line... fate, possibly? (5,4) T?A?S ?I?E (Addendum - THATS LIFE {THIS+L+FATE}* &lit)
4 Avtaar is surrounded by characters who are Scottish gypsies (6) CAIRDS {CA{I}RDS}
6 Brown toured again leaving Gabon’s capital before crossing Zulu land (8) TANZANIA {TAN}{Z}{AgAIN*}
12 Wild animal climbing on top of elevated retreat (10) UNGOVERNED {GNU<=}{OVER}{DEN<=}
15 I picked up programme on TV featuring commercial for cosmetic (3,6) EYE SHADOW {(~i)EYE}{SH{AD}OW}
16 Liberal featuring in dossier about fighters (8) SOLDIERS {SO{L}DIERS*}
19 Almost 100% error-free instruments (6) BUGLES BUGLESs
Reference List
Resistance = R, Singular = S, Million = M, Died = D, Charlie = C, Active = A, Popular = IN, Girl = G, Line = L, Zulu = Z, Daughter = D, Commercial = AD, Liberal = L, Large = L, Gold = OR, Man = M
TalePiece
By Dr RKE
Are there any fans here of the series “Magnificent Century”? I came to know of it when my wife was watching it on YouTube some months back. It was in some strange language but I could hear some words that sounded like URDU. She said “this is in Turkish”. I was like “but you don’t even know Hindi”. “SO WHAT” she shot back, “as long as there are English subtitles.” She then gave me a recap and asked me to watch an episode. The story is about the Ottoman King Suleiman, the Magnificent. It has all the elements needed for a blockbuster- the grand settings, the palace intrigues, unrequited love, the succession wars, battle scenes and even an EPIDEMIC of variola! But the one who steals the show is the stunningly beautiful Hürrem, the RUSTIC girl, who is at first an ODALISK in the Sultan’s harem. IN TIME she rises to become the Queen Consort and a centre of power in the Sultanate.
In the episode I saw, Hürrem is shown watching from the ORIEL in the palace as the SOLDIERS are marching outside the palace, led by a liveried band with their BUGLES. A swarthy African is marching ahead with a lion from TANZANIA- a symbol of the subjugative power of the Sultan. Hürrem has a blue EYESHADOW and it is hard not to get captivated by the mystery in her eyes. Her slightly pursed lips give away the fact that the apparent calm is an ILLUDING façade and inside her mind is like the fuming ETNA. She is shown turning back into the palace as the Sultan comes in for his stately lunch. She pours out a glass of raki (the Turkish TODDY) for the Sultan, cuts out a portion of the whole cooked ROSE COMB chicken- his favourite dish- and gently strokes the Sultan’s hands that have the NODOUS scars from many battles of the past. She says in her husky voice “I have always IDEALISEd you as the paragon of mercy, will you BE GOOD ENOUGH to spare the life of my sister ANNA”. This girl, originally Hafisa, had become a recent convert to Christianity, was baptized as Anna Maria and she even flaunted her cross bearing the letters ‘INRI’ on a chain in her neck. The Sultan is OUT AT SEA as to what to decide. He is torn between his call to uphold the law- to punish those who abandon the Holy Faith with their lives and his infatuation with his Queen Consort.
The closing credits abruptly appear at this stage and we are left on the tenterhooks. THAT’S LIFE. Going by the pace of the mega-serial, it might take a whole SIDEREAL YEAR and several episodes before we know the fate of Hafisa / Anna!
A LIFE ALTERING EXPERIENCE!
ReplyDeleteManjari was a typical urban Delhiite, endowed with wealthy INFLUENTIAL parents. She was a rare combination of Beauty with Brains.
Without too many OBSTACLES, she had just fulfilled her dream of becoming a qualified doctor. Her graduation was only yesterday. In fact her room was filled with flowers sent by her family & friends. She especially loved the bunch of DAY LILIES, gifted by her Mom. For the occasion, she had worn a special TASSELED saree, bought from one of the top designer stores.
Dr. Manjari had a steady boyfriend, Manas, who was currently in CALIFornia, on an Onsite posting. She was so GLAD, that he had taken a special flight to attend her graduation ceremony & had gifted her an adorable Poodle complete with a FLEA COLLAR. The main CONFLICT in her life, now, was deciding which stream to pursue for her post graduation. While everybody was advising her to choose between Obstetrics or Paediatrics, ODDLY, her preference was clinical pathology. She loved the research & diagnostic aspects of this field.
It was in this happy state of mind, that she opened the morning paper. The headlines were all about the ravaging cyclonic storms in the Bay of Bengal & the floods in Orissa. The 3rd page had a fairly large advertisement, from an NGO, asking for volunteer doctors to work with the flood victims & help control the epidemics that were bound to follow. Later, as she was casually flipping through the channels of her SMALL SCREEN, she paused at a News channel & was horrified by the visuals she saw. At a moment's notice, she decided to volunteer.
Calling the AGENT's number, given in the paper, she found that, even though she was a fresh graduate, she didn't have to LIAISE. There was such a dearth of qualified medical professionals, that she was asked, if she could leave the very next day. The minimum volunteering period was 4 weeks.
Her parents were initially upset, at this sudden turn of events & asked her to not be impulsive & ACT HER AGE. Having lived in the lap of luxury all her life, they wondered how she would manage without her DELICIOUS food, POTIONS of beauty care & comfortable 8 hour sleep. But Manas convinced them that she would be fine.
Boarding the flight the next day, she was careful to wear her ear muffs, since she had suffered from OTALGIA as a child. Alighting in Bhubaneswar airport, she was met by a group of 3 other doctors. They were waiting for her, as all of them were posted to a relief camp at Ganjam, a coastal town, about 4 hours from the airport.
She was naturally navigating towards RENT A CAR, when the senior most in the group, Dr. Ravi stopped her. He said, the roads may not be fit for driving & bus should be their only preferred mode of transport. Picking up their knapsacks & BED ROLLS, they followed him.
As the bus wound through completely washed out fishing villages, with deluges of water everywhere, she realised how sheltered her life had been so far. Arriving in Ganjam, they had to wade through knee deep water, to reach the Primary Healthcare Centre. Thankfully the centre was on an elevated plot of land. But she was shocked to see the number of patients, waiting for them.
Ganjam was on the brink of an epidemic & CHOLERA was only one amongst the many contagious diseases spreading like wild fire. Even in this PASTORAL ambience, Dr. Ravi quickly set up a professional make shift hospital, complete with a basic lab & Isolation Wards. He had a lot of experience working with disaster victims & knew how to maximize the negligent resources. They were joined by 4 para medics & 3 nurses, the next day.
Since she was the youngest in the group, her main job was to administer SHOTS of vaccines to an endless queue of patients, apart from doing their preliminary check ups & writing up their case histories.
ReplyDeleteDuring her house surgency, she had always found that real doctors rarely DEIGNED to do these mundane tasks, always assigning them to Interns. Yet amongst these simple people, calling her Doctor! Doctor! & confiding their worst fears & worries to her, she felt she was really in a life saving profession. Also, being the only female doctor in the group, women naturally treated her as their confidante & shared with her their grief over lost lives & anxiety over critical family members. This created many inexplicable bonds for her. Treating as many patients, as they could, the critical cases were shipped off to the nearest city hospital. Yet, they had a steay death rate on their hands & she tried to keep the counts of treated patients with her ABACUS.
Their day consisted of 16 - 18 working hours & day after day, she crashed into dreamless sleep. When her 4 weeks were up, it seemed most natural to extend by another 4 weeks. She felt she was learning an entirely new facet to all that she had learnt in college - a completely new way of practising medicine - that changed her entire outlook in more ways than one.
At the end of 8 weeks, nature's fury had abated & the town limped back to normalcy. Handing over their facility, complete with its patients & their medical records to the State Government Medical Department, the NGO wound up its operations in Orissa & she headed back home. She knew, she had forged a life long bond with the other 3 doctors, that no AMNESIA could wipe out & Dr.Ravi, was her role model & mentor now.
When she reached home, her parents were shocked by her appearance. Thin, tanned, with matted dull hair, she was unrecognizable. But her new found purpose in life & the quiet confidence gave her a hithero unknown glow of inner beauty. When she announced, she wanted to pursue Community Medicine, it looked like a foregone conclusion.
Today Dr.Manjari is a well known physician, recognised for her work amongst the under privileged communities & disaster victims. She knows it all dates back to a single whimsical decision, taken the day after her medical graduation & the life lessons that she learnt in Orissa.
brings back memories of doing voluntary work after the tsunami and cyclone Vardha. Well written Gowri
DeleteLovely .
DeletePoignant tale. Is Dr. Manjari someone you know from real life?
DeleteVery good.
Delete3 D
ReplyDeleteTHATS LIFE , fate possibly
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteAnnotation not correct. Not DD
DeleteC & Dd
DeleteSarathi, It appears you do not comprehend English language. Time and again you have been told to let others take a chance when you have already answered earlier in the week. Please follow the rules.
DeleteOk
DeleteThe EPIDEMIC was catching up fast in the RUSTIC atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteSO WHAT?
The team along with Manjari was well IN TIME to take control like SOLDIERS.
Soon Manjari with her signature BANDANNA was the darling of the masses.
👍👍👍
DeleteCGB,Got a few one Anna coins?
DeleteYes, of course.
Deletesir. your first line is very realistic. well said
DeleteA moment’s decision, whimsical as it may appear, is usually the game changer. A very nice tale indeed Gowri
ReplyDelete+1.
DeleteVery much to my liking. Thanks Gowri for giving meaningful life to the words in the puzzle.
Looking forward to Colonel putting up my tale mailed to him, when he is free
ReplyDeleteWhat a tale Gowri! So absorbing and very well written. Felt as though we were working there with them.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to Dr.RKE's Tale piece.
3D THATS LIFE
ReplyDelete{this l fate}*
Defintion?
DeleteDef: fate possibly
Delete(Possibly is also Anagrind)
Not fully right. In that case Fate would be doing double duty which is allowed only in one type of clue
DeleteDear all
ReplyDeleteI want to tell u something. Today completes exactly one month of my Tale Piece writing & I have hardly missed a day or two.
Thanks to each & every one of u, for ur encouraging support & valuable feedback. Special thanx to Doc for starting it all & Colonel for giving me this space to post.
Great job so far. Keep it up
Deletecongratulations Gowri. I read both tales (yourself & Dr RKE) everyday. keep it up and best wishes.
DeleteIn this context - i wish to share 2 important life lessons learnt over the last month.
ReplyDelete1. Even though, I left the halfway mark of my life lo...ng back, i discovered I could still learn something new, attempt it & keep at it diligently. This discovery has given me so much hope - knowing that my future/ old age will never be dull or boring. There r enough & more new things to learn & attempt.
2. As my Dad used to say, Do well. Try to excel. But always enjoy the process. For the journey is as important as the destination.
ReplyDeleteI remember this every day, as late into night, I let my imagination fly & my fingers peck on the mobile key board. The sheer joy I feel, cant be captured in words.
On that note - thanx to all of u - once again. 😊
ReplyDeleteIt is never too late- keep it up.
DeleteThanks Gowri. I open the blog everyday only to read what your snippets. It brightens the day
ReplyDeleteIgnore the what
DeleteExcellent tale pieces by Gowri and Dr RKE! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteSo...the plot thickens. One is,indeed,kept on tenterhooks.Nicely told.
ReplyDeletew.r.to Dr.RKE's story.
ReplyDeleteAnother excellent tale piece Dr RKE . Waiting to know what happens to Hafisa
ReplyDeleteGowri and Dr.RKE both of you should try your hands in setting crosswords. You've the unique
ReplyDeletetalent to weave a story out of seemingly disparate words and they have been very enjoyable to
say the least. Crossword setting is also a bit similar in the sense you're trying to narrate a
a story or an incident, but in a single line. Add a bit of humour, and Voila! you have
beautiful clue. Of course the definition, wordplay and the fodder do play a part, but you
can write beautiful clues with your imagination. Give it a thought.
+1
DeleteYou said it! Hope they do so soon.
ReplyDeleteRKE's of late leave the end to reader's imagination!
ReplyDeleteExcellent puzzle very challenging as usual. Wasn't good enough to complete. This blog as usual is so helpful.
7D - Hilarious!
Nice tale by Dr. RKE as usual.
ReplyDeleteColonel. Just noticed a correction needed in annotation of 13A. I didn't intend it as a telescopic (in a telecopic you cant have redundant words in the fodder). I had intended it to be a letter picking clue - middle letters of karl heINRIch marx
ReplyDeleteThe clue says focus on 'karl heinrich Marx'. Name splits into three portions. so quite hard for finding it.
DeleteRemoved [T] as the anno
Delete15d. could not guess the sound like letter 'I'. PUZZLE 14d helps me for getting 3 letter word. tricky clue by Avtaar. too nice. Got to know about the word SIDEREAL. It seems esp. related to movement stars.
ReplyDeleteThank you Prasad
DeleteEnjoyed the story dr. RKE :)
ReplyDelete