ACROSS
8 Happy girl is ahead of boy (4) GLAD {G}{LAD}
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12 Dubiously induced girl is working out logically (8) DEDUCING {INDUCED*}{G}
13 Around 4, big cat followed alumnus in darkness (8) OBLIVION {L{IV}ION}<=>{OB}
15 Get back injured swan released by writhing water snake (6) RETAKE {waTER+snAKE}*
17 Shabby trunk emptied to some extent (7) UNKEMPT [T]
19 Erroneous medical point, perhaps (7) DECIMAL*
22 Tiller murdered violently after losing mowing equipment initially (6) RUDDER mURDEReD*
24 Something that can be removed from a person and put in a book? (8) APPENDIX [DD]
26 Expecting excited parent to take in good nurse in the beginning (8) PREGNANT {PRE{G}{Nu..e}ANT*}
28 King after king gives sign of disapproval (3,3) TUT TUT {TUT}{TUT}
30 Monster’s mineral deposit contains some gold (4) OGRE {O{Gold}RE}
31 Suppress infatuation (5) CRUSH [DD]
32 Forced setter to carry poster (4) MADE {M{AD}E}
DOWN
1 Good clue without hint of confusion? It’s 2 too! (4) GLUE {G}{cLUE}
2 Damaged eaves hid sticker (8) ADHESIVE*
5 Grenade explodes around Mike, a member of a French force (8) GENDARME {GENDAR{M}E*}
6 Plunging owl (3-3) LOW-CUT {OWL}* [RA]
7 Spotted archbishop’s seat before commencement of night (4) SEEN {SEE}{Ni..t}
18 Standard javelin phraseology (8) PARLANCE {PAR}{LANCE}
20 Quickly mention, “1” wrongly (2,2,4) IN NO TIME*
21 Diplomatic court interrupts restatement of fault (7) TACTFUL {TA{CT}FUL*}
23 Knife that may be found on a page (6) DAGGER [DD]
25 Erratic bobbing of yacht after beginning of passage (6) PATCHY {YACHT}*<=>{Pa...e}
27 Right time for anger (4) RAGE {R}{AGE}
29 Language found in Kurduvadi (4) URDU [T]
Reference List
Girl = G, English = EN, Alumnus = OB(Old boy), Good = G, Nurse = N, Poster = AD
Indian = I, Direction = N, Mike = M, Archbishop's seat = SEE, Trade Union = TU, Standard = PAR, Court = CT, Right = R
Colour/Font Scheme
Definition, Solution, Component letters, Embedded links, Theme word, Reference list word, Anagram Indicator, C/C indicator, Reversal Indicator, Hidden word Indicator, Letter Pick indicator, Deletion Indicator, Homophone Indicator, Movement Indicator, Positional Indicator, Substitution, Indicator, Opposite indicator, Link/Connector, Extraneous
THE ALI BROTHERS
ReplyDeleteThis is an ode to an era gone by, of hand crafted products & the craftsmen who were not only gifted, but took great pride in their work.
It was the late 60s. I worked in the Central Government as a senior Bureaucrat. I often travelled to MUMBAI (Bombay of those days) from New Delhi on official work. On one such trip, the sole of my right shoe gave way & I needed a replacement urgently. My counterpart in the Maharashtra State Government offered to take me to a special place, where I could buy first class shoes at very reasonable prices.
Expecting to visit a local branded shop (Foreign brands were not allowed in India then), I was surprised when COASTING along Marine Drive, he stopped outside a small shed & said flourishingly 'HERE!!' Resembling a LOG CABIN, it was next to a large NEEM tree. Under the tree were displayed 30-40 odd pairs of formal & informal footwear for men, meant to SUIT any attire & any occasion.
Thus I met Ali Brothers for the first time. They were Shoe Makers (not to be confused with cobblers or hi - fi footwear designers of today). They lovingly crafted their shoes with hand, inside the cabin. The designs on display could be custom made to ones exact measurements with specifications for colour of leather, laces & other embellishments.
So impressed was I with their ware & especially the prices, that I ended up buying 3 pairs. Fortunately they had my fit ready made. More than even the shoes I TOOK TO the makers. The Ali brothers Salim & Shaqib were no ACADEMICS, yet their Urdu was HYPNOTISING & the soft tone in which they spoke & the polite manners (adab) they displayed, made interactions with them a real pleasure.
On subsequent visits, I made it a point to go & meet them. Greeting me with a SALAAM, they always offered me a cup of tea. Sitting in a lone chair, under the tree, I often spent a couple of hours talking to them. Shoe making was their family profession. Their Abbajaan used to make shoes for Englishmen. They LEARNT their craft from him. During partition their Walid refused to leave Mumbai, since this was his vatan.
They actually had clients across the world. Once, when I was there, a Canadian from NOVA SCOTIA visited them & bought half a dozen pairs of shoes from them. Another time, a guy from Honduras, after buying 3 pairs, insisted on paying them in LEMPIRAS & finally kept credit, saying he would pay them, in rupees, the next day. I was really impressed at the trust they displayed in their customers & also how they never bargained. Infact most of their orders were managed from REMOTE destinations. They sent out yearly pairs to many clients through Post parcels & received their remuneration via money orders.
Their wares came in a variety of leathers including calf skin, seal skin & ADDER skins. They used special processes for tanning & treating these skins, which was done near their residence. The tanneries had different SPAs for different leathers & chemicals like ALUM & PHLOEM of special plants was used to highlight the colours & bring the sheen to the leather. A BATTER of ingredients was STIRRED & applied on the hides & they were sun dried, which gave the shoes a long life. The shoes were hand stitched & Shaqib was a great THREADER. He could pass a variety of guts & twines through the eye holes of the finest of needles. They also gave specific instructions on how to maintain & store their shoes with special tins of polish, cloth wipes & boxes lined with tissue & cloth.
The only problem I had with them, was the lo.....ng life of their shoes. The specially crafted soles never wore off & the stitches never gave way. After a dozen pairs, I knew I was almost done as their customer. When I shared this with them, they said it was true of most of their customers. They had enough pairs to last a life time. Their customer base was dwindling. The younger generation preferred the short lived branded shoes from Bata or Action. Rarely some of their customers TRADED IN their old shoes ( still in good condition) & bought new ones. Salim made it a point to take these old shoes & give them to the bare footed beggars in the Chowpatti beach.
ReplyDeleteOnce, I even joked, asking them why they could not compromise & make their shoes with shorter lives. They were ALARMED to hear this. As they explained, while making shoes was their livelihood, the shoes themselves were their creations, their art work, each piece crafted with love & passion. Every artist wants immortality for his art. How can they be different? I was so moved that i became speechless.
Within a decade, their customers were reduced to a hand full & there were fewer & fewer pairs under the tree. It was obvious that they were facing financial trouble. As i knew, they would not accept any financial help, during one of my last visits, I bought all the twelve pairs displayed. They also knew, I didn't need them, especially the mismatch in sizes & some styles very different from my choice. But such was their desperation, that they packed all the pairs & put them in the car. With their lowered heads, they did not even count the money I offered. It was with a heavy heart that I left that day.
I didn't realise i will never see the Ali Brothers again. On my next visit, almost a year later, I was shocked to find the log cabin & the NEEM tree gone. Instead was the entry to a large PHARMACY, the road cutting through the pavement at that spot.
I guess Ali Brothers are representatives of not just a bygone generation, but a way of life lost & gone. Mass production, machine work & Corporates have wiped out hundreds of handicrafts & craftsmen across the country. We know not, where these people went.
As their memories stay SECRETED in our hearts, only the pairs of shoes in my cupboard, still in good condition after so many years, bear testimony to the fact that such craftsmen did exist.
Adapted from a short story by John Galsworthy. Forgot the name of the story.
@Gowri
DeleteNice talepiece. It is an adaptation of the story 'Quality' by Galsworthy.
I was sure 'SECRETED would find its place :-)
DeleteNice story again or a memorable trip down memory lane.
Nobel Prize winner!
Deletelink to the story "Quality" by Galsworthy,for those who are interested-
Deletehttps://www.thoughtco.com/quality-by-john-galsworthy-1690111
Thanx AJ. I read the original really lo......ng back. I dont know how true the adapatation is. The gist of it. As i recollect.
DeleteThanx Paddy. Will read the original & refresh my memory now. Yes SECRETE (with its new meaning for me) had to be incorporated. 😊
Delete@Gowri
Delete1. Adaptation need (should) not exactly match the original.
2. Personally I think the spirit of the original is preserved.
3. Galsworthy died in 1933 one year after he received his Nobel.
I too read it lo........ng(er) back. But your title Ali brothers was the clue which reminded me of Gessler brothers and that was it.
Good work Gowri, by all measures.
Touching tale piece!
Delete+1
DeleteI had it as non-detailed prose selection in my Intermediate class in college.very touching story indeed and so is Gowris!
My favourite clue today is 24ac.
ReplyDelete+1. Great clue. Struggled for a while (thinking the same thing to be put in a book) until I got some crossings and light dawned on me. A big Aha moment! Thank you Incognito.
Delete+2 👏
DeleteIf it's enumeration had 4 or 5 letters, can the Answer be
IDEA or THOUGHT 🤔
This is a 5G day!
ReplyDeleteTypo in 6D.
ReplyDeleteCorrected
DeleteI appreciate Col.'s sincerity in sticking to the "Saturday Format" of Ramesh! It's a sign of appreciation.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kishore for Good Clues without any confusions! Many great surfaces too, specially liked the surface reading in appendix, decimal, rage, pregnant(++) & crush 😍
ReplyDeleteSolution to 26A was clued differently by INCOGNITO himself recently as:
ReplyDeleteCarrying empty gun, parent goes around (8)
I liked both!!!
6D looked like a DD!
ReplyDeleteIt is perhaps a Reverse Anagram with shortest clue and Answer as well!
👌
First time probably CUT as anagrind.
DeleteThank you Mr. Kishore Rao for enlightening me about WAPITI (3-D). In fact a combat aircraft during the WW-II was named WAPITI and jocularly, it was referred as 'What-a-Pity'. It was the first aircraft in the inventory of IAF till replaced by the Hurricanes & Lysanders in 1942.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, sir. Westland Wapitis formed the first Flight of the IAF at Drigh Road, Karachi, till they moved to Miranshah, Waziristan to take up action, against rebels, which is continued till todayby the PAF.
DeleteWhen the Bhittani had to be scared off,
DeleteIt was the "Wop" that carried it off.
Yes, that vintage adage about WOP did make me feel younger by so many decades!!!
DeleteAnd sorry for the belated response since my PC had conked out, perhaps to warn me that my days to kick the bucket are not far off as such better to return to B'lore to pass the rest of my life and get rid of this 'capital punishment' which I've endured since 1989...
Also 'Khublei' to you for reminding (16-D) me of those days spent at Shillong, known as the Scotland of the East in early '70s.
ReplyDeleteThanks to you too
DeleteKishore has something for everyone!
ReplyDeleteToo good today, Kishore, thanks
ReplyDeleteTop clue is 24A Appendix!
+1.
DeleteUniversally voted best clue- I have forwarded to a few who are all agreed that it ia an awesome clue. A brain wave indeed!
ReplyDeleteThanks, everyone for solving and commenting
ReplyDelete