Dear readers (if there are any) (aha! the perpetual parenthesis pops in), I have to admit that I had a far more sinister reason to start blogging. As I told you, I am doing a summer training. But believe it or not, it is unbelievably boring. So what I am doing is that I am writing all my blogs there and then typing it on my Roci. Come on, PCBs (and monster ones at that) can only be so much interesting. Other than the Hindu Crossword (HC), this is my only respite. I have been an avid fan of crosswords ever since my father started doing them. Since the Sudoku in every newspaper available would have been solved by my grandma at the crack of dawn, I have to make do with HC. Also if the sudoku happens to be tough, then I have to wait till it is finished (as grandma dear would rather disown me than miss a sudoku). But I don't think that solving a sudoku puzzle can be as satisfying as getting a word on HC. I have made it a habit of doing a Ganguly (read Natwest), every time I get a word. Fortunately for people around me, that is a rarity. Every time a word has been painstakingly worked out, I feel the same awe towards the twisted minds of the crossword makers that the police guy in Illusionist had. That WAS a satisfied smile. One of my cousins told me that the only reason he got placed was that he was good at crosswords and so was the interviewer. That certainly perked my interest. I also try to make my own clues and in sudden fits of inspiration or ingenuity, make several imba (according to me, of course) clues (for the uninitiated IMBA adj: short form of imbalanced but refers to a person or something which is too good. origin: gaming circles). One of my personal favourite clue made by myself has been "Elementary my dear Watson, elementary". If anyone did guess, the correct answer is Holmium. My humble apologies to all crossword aficionados and Sherlock Holmes fanatics (the reason I apologised to Sherlock Holmes fanatics is because the supposedly trademark dialogue of Sherlock has not been made by him in any books or stories). Hey I am not rambling properly. Will do better next time.
Toodles
3 comments:
Very good Damu. I agree there cannot be any hobby so fulfilling and gratifying as solving crosswords. I concluded long ago that you need to understand the psyche of the creator to crack the underlying code. But I must confess, I seldom get even close to doing so when the CWs concerned belong to The Hindu or even TOI. Sudokus do come a close second, though they aren't half as challenging as the crosswords.
P.S.- Your grandma's pulitham has come as a pleasant surprise. Her ancient blood propels her intelligent brain like nothing else. Kudos to her!
Actually, this crazy guy introduced me to Hindu crosswords. Sad that I am not able to crack at least one of them.. Daamunte muthassiyodu ente anveshanam parayanam.. Ivideyum sudoku cheyyaan ammayum muthassiyum thammil yudhamaanu
Wow Damukutta, that was a tough clue. It took me a while to connect the "element" and no I didnt guess it and had to look in Wikipedia to figure out what Holmium was. You will make a tough quizmaster indeed.
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