http://navuduri.net/blog1.php

Please update your bookmarks.  Eventually, all posts in this blog will be migrated to this new address.

Grid

Word Game #3 Solution

Solution with annotations

Key:  * = Anagram; [ ] = embedded clues; <- = Reverse ; ~ = Homophone; – = Deletion; CD = Cryptic Definition; Definitions in bold

Across

1    Pamper silly this creator of national plans (6): MAPPER = (PAMPER)*                   

  4    Unbelievable, creditless, so unworthy of taking in (8): INEDIBLE = (INCREDIBLE) – (CR)            

10   Clinic nearly full of sickly pale “Pasta Excess” cases being ignored (9): CAPELLINI = [C[APEL = pale*]LINIC] – (c)

11    Stir up the ribald without restraint (2-3) : AD-LIB = [RIBALD - (r)]*                           

12    I initially discovered a chant recited in unique style (5) : IDIOM = [I]+[DI]+[OM]       

14    Creature that mainly fed on fresh grass out east (9): STEGOSAUR = (GRASS OUT E)*             

15    Thousand on mission to square themselves for a big operation (11): MILLIONFOLD = [MILLI]+[ON]+[FOLD] (million = thousand squared also; mission = fold = church)     

18    Interlingual amalgams nit-picked about at old language forum (5,6): TAMIL SANGAM = (AMALGAMS NIT)*

21    How much night has to do with day, proverbially (3,3,3): NOT ONE BIT (CD)             

22    North or south Asian country (5): KOREA (CD)                                      

23    Mathematician, one relieved of drug habit (5): HERON = [HEROIN]-(i)                  

24    Stain the glory of one in the public eye (9): SPOTLIGHT = [SPOT]+[LIGHT]

26    Service oriental could use from the physiotherapist (8): MASSEUSE = [MASS]+[E]+[USE]

27    Trophy bride is apparently a product of mixed ancestry (6): HYBRID

Down

  1    Mother taking side in rift around father’s undue sense of power (8): MACHISMO = [MA]+(-s)[SCHISM]+[O]   

  2    Dad took ill, we hear, eating the French flavored ice stick (8): POPSICLE = [POP]+[SIC ~ SICK]+[LE]                

  3    Feel lightheaded encountering marine creature (3) : EEL = (-f)[FEEL]                  

  5    Details spoil outline on stressful sound problem (5,9): NOISE POLLUTION = [SPOIL OUTLINE ON]*

  6    Domain “D” spotted over dorsal crest identifies the reptile (11): DIAMONDBACK = [DOMAIN D]*+ [BACK]        

  7    Completely in the wrong, singing that maudlin song (6): BALLAD = [B[ALL]AD]                        

  8    They set out when sharp animal noise follows them (6): EMBARK = [EM]+[BARK]       

  9    If Mr Sebastian’s wilder friends met him, what they’d address him on (5,4,5): FIRST NAME BASIS (CD) = (IF MR SEBASTIAN’S)*

13    Effort needed to keep up good karma in 10 ancestral monuments (11): MAINTENANCE

16    Wet algae yield this oriental food thickener (4-4): AGAR-AGAR        

17    Brat pretended to be tightly wedged in (8): IMPACTED = [IMP]+[ACTED]                                        

19    Scan the music library for a sacred song (6): ANTHEM                          

20    An organ, after operation, needs new suture (6): UTERUS = (SUTURE)*                

25    Rested after extremely stressful tea party (3): LAY

Before I go to the crossword, I wanted to reminisce about my origins in crossword solving.  It all started when I was poring over the Hindu one day and I noticed some scrawlings near the crossword area of the newspaper.  Somebody had tried to unscramble an anagram by printing the letters in a circle; what’s more, the crossword had some entries filled in as well.  It turned out to be have been done by one of our paying guests:  I must have been in the eighth or ninth grade around then, and with dad being the sole breadwinner and three growing mouths to feed, we had decided to sub-let one room of our 2-bedroom apartment, to a couple of bachelors. 

First, a couple of guys named Rajeev Verma and Anil Gupta moved in. These guys were a bit standoffish and I don’t really remember much about them other than their names.  When they moved out for various reasons, they recommended two other colleagues of theirs: Arvind and Sanjay Pandey (unrelated), with whom, in contrast, we all really hit it off.  It was Sanjay who used to do those crossword puzzles.  Arvind was a happy-go-lucky type, with whom we were freer: we used to chitchat about nothing in particular, and my sisters and I would imitate his North Indian accent.  I remember he took us kids out to the Zoo one day and we became even more friendly after that.  Sanjay was the brainier of the two, and it took a while for him to warm up to us.  We started off playing chess, in which, I remember, Sanjay used to soundly beat me.  At that time, I used to have a lot of Tamil Brahmin friends, and used to wear dhotis while at home due to their influence.  Arvind and Sanjay used to poke fun of me for this – they couldn’t believe that a teenager would volunteer to wear a dhoti — even my dad used to wear lungis to bed. 

In any case, I used to match Sanjay’s solutions to his scrawlings, and I slowly formed the connection on how a crossword works.  I remember the first clue I solved: an anagram, and I was thrilled. Soon, I was solving more clues, and, especially when Sanjay and Arvind were at work in the night shift in their BPCL plant in Tondiarpet, I took the liberty of filling in the crossword as much as I could.  My infractions were not initially commented upon, but soon it almost became a tacit contest between Sanjay and me to see who would get at the crossword first.

A year or so later, Arvind moved out after he got married.  He left us laughing, cracking jokes to the dozen – and never did return to visit us again.  When I later got a job in BPCL and moved to Bombay, I met him again there, but never did feel quite as close.  Sanjay stayed for a few more months, and after a trip one day, he also announced that he was getting married and that he was moving out.  I remember the day he finally left, I was the last one to see him off as he took his auto rickshaw, and as he climbed in, I realized he was crying, when I saw the light glinting on his tears.  Only then did I realize how attached Sanjay had gotten to us: for some reason, I always assumed the more outgoing Arvind was the one closer to us. 

Unlike Arvind, Sanjay did return – he brought his wife, and we all felt happy to see him.  He mentioned, however, that he was being transferred out of Madras.  That is the last time I saw him: I hope he’s doing well, wherever he is.  I am often reminded of him whenever I solve crosswords; I wonder what he would think of my grid.  Anyways, here goes…

Grid

Crossword # 2

Clues

Across

  1    Pamper silly this creator of national plans (6)                   

  4    Unbelievable, creditless, so unworthy of taking in (8)             

10   Clinic nearly full of sickly pale “Pasta Excess” cases being ignored (9)

11    Stir up the ribald without restraint (2-3)                            

12    I initially discovered a chant recited in unique style (5)        

14    Creature that mainly fed on fresh grass out east (9)             

15    Thousand on mission to square themselves for a big operation (11)     

18    Interlingual amalgams nit-picked about at old language forum (5,6)

21    How much night has to do with day, proverbially (3,3,3)              

22    North or south Asian country (5)                                      

23    Mathematician, one relieved of drug habit (5)                  

24    Stain the glory of one in the public eye (9)                          

26    Service oriental could use from the physiotherapist (8)                   

27    Trophy bride is apparently a product of mixed ancestry (6)      

Down

  1    Mother taking side in rift around father’s undue sense of power (8)   

  2    Dad took ill, we hear, eating the French flavored ice stick (8)                

  3    Feel lightheaded encountering marine creature (3)                   

  5    Details spoil outline on stressful sound problem (5,9)

  6    Domain “D” spotted over dorsal crest identifies the reptile (11)        

  7    Completely in the wrong, singing that maudlin song (6)                       

  8    They set out when sharp animal noise follows them (6)       

  9    If Mr Sebastian’s wilder friends met him, what they’d address him on (5,4,5)

13    Effort needed to keep up good karma in 10 ancestral monuments (11)

16    Wet algae yield this oriental food thickener (4-4)         

17    Brat pretended to be tightly wedged in (8)                                        

19    Scan the music library for a sacred song (6)                          

20    An organ, after operation, needs new suture (6)                

25    Rested after extremely stressful tea party (3)

Will post the solution next week from India!

Pacific - Sunset

We spent a day at the Pacific Ocean the other day.  I’m glad I phrased the opening sentence the way I did, because while our purported destination was Catalina Island, what I imbibed overwhelmingly through the day was the Ocean itself, its smell, its taste; its tranquil, gently bobbing surface that conceals another world within. 

I have lived within a stone’s throw of the Pacific Ocean for the last 7 years, and while I have been to its shores and occasionally felt “the sea inside,” which is what I call that nostalgic, visceral feeling of homecoming I feel when I lose myself in the waves, this is the first time I felt like I gave the ocean its due in time, and space in my thoughts.  

Unlike the Indian Ocean, on the shores of which I grew up, the Pacific has a different personality.  If the Indian Ocean is youthful, ever-ready to expend the energy in its ever-erosive waves, the Pacific, it seems, is more thoughtful, seemingly conserving its energy for a time yet to come.  Its serenity seems to conceal a hidden strength, one beyond youthful rebellion, past the dalliances of middle age, a becalming, prudent wisdom; and depths beyond my ability to fathom.  The Indian Ocean I remember is grey-green under sunny, Indian skies, its waves seemingly rushing winds along to provide respite to the overheated Indian cities.  The Pacific, in contrast is a deep, soothing blue, gently rolling zephyrs along to the mild-weathered (mannered?) California coastline.

The occasion was a company-sponsored team outing, so money was no object . The company that set sail included, besides me, 4 other members of my team.  The agenda included getting there by fast ferry, breakfast, snorkeling, parasailing, and a final early dinner. 

The day started out being overcast, but sunny skies were expected to ensue mid-morning.  I find that on outings like these, particularly those that are sea-bound, my mood can fluctuate between brooding/ taciturn to enthusiastic/ communicative.  I found on the day (perhaps due to a good breakfast), that I leaned toward the latter bearing. 

We arrived on time and I started off with a joke when Hebat, one of my colleagues, compared us to pilgrims undertaking a long-awaited journey.

“What are they called in India?” he asked.

“You mean, yogis?” I said.

“Yes, yogeeeees.”  It sounded like he said “yo-geese.”

“Yeah, yogeese,” I replied, “the singular form of which is the well-known ‘yo-goose’,” amidst peals of laughter by others, although it was completely lost on Hebat.

The onward journey was pleasant.  I continued playing the fool in the vein of “Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd.” where one of the traveling honeymooners goes on a dolphin-watching expedition.  The conning “guide” on the expedition would simply point at the distance and cry, “There!“ as if he had spotted dolphins, and the unwary tourists would crane their necks trying to find them for a while, after which the guide would simply point elsewhere and cry, “There!” again.  At the end, the tourists complained that they had a neck sprain trying to locate what was “There!”  I am happy to report that we did spot pods/schools of dolphins.

By the time we arrived at Catalina, the sun began to show his gentle November countenance.  We went in search of breakfast, and were directed by locals to the best breakfast in town, “Original Jacks,” where they apparently serve food like “mom used to make it.”  “Whose mom?” I was tempted to ask, for I couldn’t spot my mom’s upma or idly or dosa on the menu.  In any case, the breakfast was hearty, and I filled myself with my second breakfast of the day: waffles with strawberries and peanut butter, after coming under the influence of a strange peanut craving.

We went forthwith to the snorkeling place and accoutred ourselves with the cutting edge snorkeling gear.  Apparently there was to be no training, and apparently, we were the only ones who were  brave enough to snorkel that day.  The snorkeling spot was an isolated cove called “Lovers Cove” about a half-mile from the pier.  Between peals of laughter, we changed into our wetsuits (for we had never seen each other but fully clothed, to be a little poetic), and headed onward.

Snorkeling turned out to be quite difficult for the beginners on our team, which included all the guys, three of us.  Hebat gave up after his first mouthful of sea-water, and Burhani kept complaining about how he always gags when he puts anything in the mouth.  After several mouthfuls of sea water, I decided that I had to take this slow.  It is difficult not to panic when one isn’t a particularly good swimmer; the nose ruled out as an option for respiration, and water being swallowed doesn’t allow for air intake through the mouth either.  Those few times, we would thrash around helplessly and finally pull off the snorkel and breathe air in by the dozenfuls.  The two ladies, Sharon and Sanwali, who had done snorkeling in the past were now half-way across the ocean and kept calling out to us that there were plenty of fish to see where they were.  “We would see them if we could get there,” we wanted to yell back.

Snorkeling

After resolutely trying for a half-hour, a process I thoroughly enjoyed, we finally figured it out and were able to see the fish underneath the seemingly-plain deep blue facade.  With my limited experience with fauna, I was loathe to start feeding food (my mind extrapolated as follows: Food –> Little fish –> Big fish –> Shark), despite all the science I knew to the contrary; a thought that was validated when Burhani got his pinky bitten by a little fish (mind: Sharks can sense concentrations of about a billion ppm of blood in water).  Despite that, I really enjoyed spending time with the Pacific and peering into its (slightly) inner recesses.  Burhani and I were the last to exit and that too by a good half hour.

After a refreshing shower and a change of clothes, we headed to our parasailing appointment.   Soon, we were aboard our parasailing vessel with a couple of other pairs.  We rode a couple of miles into the sea and one by one (or two by two) rose above the expanse in a vast, inflatable parachute tethered to the vessel by a single rope.  Humanity, thy follies are endless, I thought.  Who would want to ascend (despite the thrill of it) putting our faith in a pair of hooks which were our only means of attachment to the parachute, I thought, as I took my turn.

Parasailing

Burhani was my companion in this expedition, and as we rose, I did not feel airsick, as I had expected to.  Seeing the deep blue waters below and being lifted ever-more so we could take in even more of it, was exhilarating.  The thought popped into my head that this would be a great way to be alone with the sea at that moment, and I felt guilty, I know not why (perhaps I do).  We fell short of adjectives other than amazing and awesome, and before we knew it, our descent began.  We felt the tug of the descent a bit more, and except for a moment of surprise when our legs contacted the (surprisingly warm) water of the ocean, the rest of it was uneventful.

We hurried to catch the ferry back to Long Beach and on the way we saw a few people fishing.  Several of them caught fish and they reeled it in and cut them loose on the pier.  The entire line of passengers boarding the ferry saw as the fish performed bizzare contortions while suffocating to death.  Ironic how we had spent 2 hours trying to observe the very fish that were being killed right in front of our eyes.  Oh, humanity!

I felt my brooding mood engulf me halfway through the return journey.  I closed my eyes for a while, but then got up to simply stare at the waves.  “The sea inside,” took over me as I stared at the white water highway our boat severed through the serene blue ocean, and the blue taking over slowly in the aftermath.  I felt hypnotically silent and as we alighted and reached our cars, I was lost in my thoughts.

A couple of beers during our early dinner loosened me enough to become the life of the party and we laughed and laughed ourselves into to silly excess, making fun of our bosses.  Incidentally, I ordered yet another peanut dish to satisfy my insatiable peanut craving. 

I bade farewell to my colleagues and thought that would draw the curtain on this memorable experience with my colleagues.

However, my Pacific hangover continued through the next day as I thought of the serenity of the ocean, and its alternate reality that I had inhabited only a few hours ago.  I envisioned the thoughts in this post throughout the day, and did not shower or shave; in fact, it was noon by the time I brushed.  I thought of the incessant waves lashing on the ever-receptive coastline, the innocent-looking fish we had struggled to see, the cold wind in our faces, and the smoothness of the pebbles that line Lovers’ Cove. I just kept telling Mitu over and over that we should go to Catalina together one day, to which she simply nodded, not realizing how much I meant it.

I took Rishu out for tennis in the evening, still hung over.  When we returned, I finally decided to take my shower.  The clean, warm water ran all over me and gently washed the Pacific out of my hair – and mind. I stepped out of the shower, dried myself and returned to the present.

The rules are: you cannot write down the jumble (everything needs to happen upstairs).  You get a minute to solve each jumble for 2 or 3 word jumbles, and 2 minutes for more than 3 words.  You have to use all letters in the jumble to create meaningful English words. The number in parantheses is the minimum number of words that the jumble will yield (some might possibly yield more).  Plurals are allowed as well as past tense etc., but no proper nouns. 

Uncle Murali used to have a fascination for 6-letter word jumbles.  His theory is that 6 letters present just the right amount of difficulty. 5 is too easy, and according to him 7 and up is too hard.  I am quite cool with 7 and even 8-letter words, but in deference to Uncle Murali, this first puzzle only has 6 letter words. 

I will post the solution next Sunday.

• NRSTIA (2)
• PTRNAE (2)
• PLISME (2)
• TSSIRE (2)
• EPSIMR (2)
• PSELEA (2)
• ILPSTO (3)
• RTSIAT (3)
• TTEESR (3)
• RNSTEI (3)
• APELSD (3)
• TSNLEI (4)
• AENRDG (4)
• IESRBU (4)
• LSTPAE (6)