Solution to 2D 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 It is a new drink infused with herbs (6) TISANE [T] &lit
9 Prefaces and writing inverses (6) PROEMS {P{R}OEMS}
10 On average 1 is mostly biased (8) PARTISAN {PAR}{TISANe}
12 Muscle becomes sore next (8) EXTENSOR*
13 Core group of sailors enter bottom of the ship (6) KERNEL {KE{RN}EL}
15 You’ll find one in a newspaper — it’s assorted nowadays (10,2) CLASSIFIED AD {CLASSIFIED}{AD}
18 See an atheist become numb (12) ANAESTHETISE*
21 Images represent some form of discrimination (6) AGEISM*
22 Coming to capture? (8) ENTRANCE [DD]
24 Article on high fever from a Dutch city (3,5) THE HAGUE {THE}{H}{AGUE}
25 Caught in a huge mess, it’s awkward (6) GAUCHE {C} in {A+HUGE}*
26 Order to sleep and make it level (8) BULLDOZE {BULL}{DOZE}
27 Soldier to check that menace (6) THREAT {TH{RE}AT}
DOWN
1 Tolerate the vice president, it doesn’t cost much (8) TUPPENCE {PUT<=}{PENCE} Tolerate=Put up
2 Breakdown in Polish military transport (5,3) S?O?T ?A? {Addendum - SCOUT CAR - {SCOU{ACT<=}R} - See comments)
3 Built mansion inland as we are all inter-dependent (2,3,2,2,6) NO MAN IS AN ISLAND {MANSION+INLAND+AS}*
5 Open to Indian King’s ascendency (4) AJAR<=
6 Maybe it means he gets inspiration almost simultaneously (2,3,4,6) IN THE SAME BREATH [C&DD]
7 She remains an enigma, that’s somewhat absurd (6) INSANE [T]
8 Mentally confused? Look, it’s empty! (6) SENILE {SE{NIL}E}
11 Cosy, about to enter plant (7) COMFREY {COMF{RE}Y}
16 Hurry up, come to clean at the top (8) PINNACLE {NIP<=}{CLEAN*}
19 Vehicle carrying worker from Cambridge (6) CANTAB {C{ANT}AB}
20 Cancel actual percentage banks invested (6) REPEAL {RE{Pe...gE}AL}
Reference List
About = CA, Writing = R, Group of sailors = RN(Royal Nay), High = H, Caught = C, Soldier = RE(Royal Engineers), About = RE
THE STORY OF MY BIRTH
ReplyDeleteMy parents tied the proverbial KNOT, as soon as they reached the legal age for marriage. The reason for this was; it was a love marriage. My father is a Hindu & my mother a Muslim. Since my paternal grandfather considered this alliance to be the ultimate DOWNFALL in his status, they were promptly banished from his palatial bungalow in Lucknow & told never to show their faces again.
After 3 months at various friends' places, my father landed the job of a Quality Inspector at the Gujarat Co- operative in Anand. As a PROBATIONER, he had to visit the Interior villages of Gujarat, checking the quality of milk & staying there to ensure that proper process control was maintained.
Thus began their ODYSSEY into the Indian heartland. My mother, a city bred convent educated woman found herself in an alien ZONE. My parents decided to rent a small house & start their family life at Madhapur Village, 30kms from Mehsana. The area under my Dad's control was within 500m around Madhapur.
A predominantly Hindu village, the people EXUDED hospitality & kindness & welcomed my young mother with open arms. The Sarpanch & his wife Lilavathi were WARMHEARTEDNESS personified. Yet my mother, with her CIRCUMSPECT attitude, decided to hide her religion & her name Farida. She gave herself a new alias - Durga - not a RANDOM choice by any standards. Her life, though STATIC to a large extent, started following a set pattern.
It was at this juncture, that my mother found herself pregnant. She felt NAUSEATED through the day. At other times, her hunger refused to be SATED. Her METABOLISM was undergoing changes beyond her comprehension. She did not share this news with any of her neighbours. On those hot afternoons, inside a house which was little more than a WEATHERPROOF shelter, she longed for her own mother & her comfortable life before marriage.
In many of the villages, the cattle was afflicted with ECTOZOA & my dad had to often travel with the farmer & the cow to the nearest veterinary hospital, leaving my Mom alone. So, one day, he had to tell the Sarpanch that my Mom was pregnant.
Next day morning, my Mom was surprised when a battalion of ladies came to her house with big thalis. They had brought a beautiful handcrafted mirror work Ghagra with matching Odhni. Beautiful dangling silver ear rings were fixed to her EARLOBES & glass bangles piled onto her arms. There was a special preparation made of NEEP & jaggery, that had to be offered to the local Goddess. The EXCITABLE women paraded around my Mom, as they sang & danced their way to the temple. Once inside they asked her to offer a special prayer for a safe delivery & take part in the aarthi.
At this point, my Mom was so overcome with guilt, she wanted a CORRECTION of her previous lies. She fell on Lilavathi's feet. She felt she could no longer SCHLEP her false story, on the face of such kindness & told them the truth, about her religion & about how Namaaz was the only form of prayer she knew. There was a stunned silence. While many women started walking out, Lilavathi picked up my Mom & wiped her tears. AFTERWARDS she dropped my mother home & left, without uttering a single word.
ReplyDeleteNext day, the Panchayat was convened & my parents summoned. My father explained the situation of their marriage & how both their families had forsaken them. He explained that, Madhapur was the only home they had & they did not want to lose this family too. The PLENARY session ended with forgiving my parents & my mother being allowed to retain her original name.
Soon winter set in & my birth was just 2 months away. The women took turns looking after my Mom & knitted a beautiful CALAMANCO blanket for me. Lilavathi always accompanied my mother for her regular checkups at the Primary Health Centre, where the doctor from Mehsana visited twice a week. She promised my mother that she would be present with her during her delivery.
It is another story, that I was born premature, at the knock of midnight & it was Lilavathi who brought me into this world, with the help of 3 other women. It was she who gave me my first NOOGIE, which got me crying aloud. Till today, I am teased that, I used to cry so loudly & incessantly that, for the first time, they all wished their houses had more SOUND PROOF walls.
Thus, I spent my first 3 years at Madhapur, spoilt rotten by a bevy of grandparents. Just that, I was such a splitting IMAGE of my own paternal grandfather, that on receiving my photograph by post, after my 3rd birthday, he came immediately & literally kidnapped me back to Lucknow, of course, with my parents in tow. Soon my maternal grandparents also reconciled.
My life changed irrevocably after that. But I continued to visit Madhapur every year, till I became a teenager & got news of Lila Dadi's passing away in college.
Oh!! One more thing - together, my sets of grandparents gave me the lofty name of Ram Rahim, but till today i am mostly called Babloo, the name given by Lila Dadi.
2d. sport van.. tro(o)ps..in reverse and broken ( breakdown) van .. vehicle
ReplyDeleteSeems not correct
ReplyDeleteYes. It is wrong
Delete6DN [IN THE SAME*]+BREATH (inspiration)
ReplyDelete@ Gowri
ReplyDeleteAn engrossing talepiece nicely penned by Gowri.
Thank you for breathing some life into my words.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNot complete. Think in terms of Arden's tricks.
Delete8D empty? NIL inside?
ReplyDeleteEmpty= with nothing in it
Delete2D
ReplyDeleteBreakdown = SCOUT
VEHICLE = CAR
SO the answer is SCOUT CAR
What's polish doing in the clue?
ReplyDeleteIn reply to Sarathi's comment
Delete2D
ReplyDeleteTransport = CAR
No. The answer is SCOUT CAR
ReplyDeletePolish is SCOUR.
How you get (act)* for break down is not clear.
Polish (P in capital letter means related to Poland and not SCOUR)
DeleteYour argument is incorrect Sarathi
DeleteKindly enlighten me how do you get SCOUT
DeleteMy interpretation is Breakdown =SCOUT
Gowri is close,but not an anagram though.
DeleteScout car - military vehicle
ReplyDeleteSome clues may get some solvers to act up
ReplyDeleteIs that a clue to solve the clue?
DeleteGood hint from Sritri
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBreakdown is ACT UP. TCA.
ReplyDeleteIn Scour.
SCOU(TCA)R.
Thank u so much. Sritri & others.
😊
Thanks🙏
ReplyDeleteYes,we see a lot of that in daily life,esp.in small places without much publicity.
ReplyDeleteA delicate subject handled equally delicately.