Friday 8 August 2014

Sixth Blog Birthday, and a Prize Hindi Puzzle

crosswordunclued-birthday-6 It's been six years since I wrote the first post on Crossword Unclued, a 7-step guide to cryptic crosswords for beginners. Blogging since then has an amazing, fun-filled journey. Thank you very much for reading and contributing to the blog.

One of the best side-effects of writing Crossword Unclued has been the creative, thoughtful and positively brilliant people it has brought into my life. One of them is Kishore Rao, who once again makes the daunting feat of setting a cryptic crossword in Hindi a reality. Kishore shared this Hindi crossword as a gift for Crossword Unclued on the birthday. Thanks a lot, Kishore.

I've been asked by him to claim co-authorship, for writing a few of the clues and for sundry contributions such as realizing, after the entire puzzle had been pruned and polished, that an interlocked letter needed the nasalization dot, thus causing a complete reworking of the grid.

Here is the finished Hindi cryptic crossword for your solving pleasure. Instructions for solving and sending in your answers are below the puzzle. And there's a prize to be won, too. 

hindi-cryptic-crossword2-grid

आर-पार

1  ख़ुशी से भरपूर होने के लिए ज़रा मज़े के साथ आराम करना, बिना सर लगाए  (3)     
3  नज़दीक लाने के लिए १३वीं मे इस का उपयोग करो (2)     
4  मोहब्बत पाना है तो छोटा प्याला लो और रोना शुरू करो (2)     
5  सलमा की बनायी हुयी समस्या (3)     
7  इसे सुनो! ट्रक के पीछे ये दो (3)     
8  तमिल नाडु के सब से दक्षिणी शहर की लड़की (2)     
9  हाथी घूमे दुनिया (2)     
11  बुज़ुर्ग रिश्तेदार? नहीं, नहीं, नहीं! पहले नींद आ रही है (2,2)     
13  इश्क लड़ाने का समय आज नहीं - एक दिन पहले, या एक दिन बाद (2)     
15  रास मे डूबा हुआ क्षत्रियों का सरताज हैवान बन जाता है (3)     
16,19  हम दोनों का, मगर अलग-अलग (2,2)     
18  इतने ज़्यादा की आप हिसाब नहीं लगा पायेंगे (5)     
21  काश, बाबूजी न छुपाते अपना यौवन (3)     
22  जर्मनी में खो गया दिल (2)      
23  बर्बाद शौहर ने खाया एक फल (4)     
25  ठाकरे का लड़का (2)     
26  शाम ढली, अब इसे जलाने का वक़्त है (2)     
28  विलायती वाहन के सामने आ, और देख सूरत (3)     
29  मास्टरशेफ़ के न्यायाधीश की अभिवृद्धि (3)     
31  नेहरू (पूर्व प्रधान मंत्री) का चेहरा (2)     
32  घोड़ा अश्विन के क़ब्ज़े में है (2)     
33  शुरू-शुरू में दीपक वाणी के पीछे नहीं था पागल (3)
 

नीचे की ओर

1  चुटकुला जिसे थोड़ा पहले ही रोकने से आनंद मिलता है (3)
2  आप के परिचय का शब्द, ज़रा ना मत कहिये (2)
3 शेरपा लालटेन लाया तो भीतर ठंडी मिली (2)
4  वक़्त रोते-रोते काटना पड़ेगा अगर आप काटेंगे इसे (2)
6  प्रियतमा के लिए श्रृंगार करना (3)
7  कब लेना है मेरे दिल की सलामी? जब पाना है क्या, खोना है क्या (2,1,2)
10  समाधान जो खेती में उपयोग किया जा सकता है (2)
12  सेब का ये करना, शायद विज्ञान के महत्वपूर्ण सिद्धांत की प्रेरणा? (2,3)
13  वादे के जोड़ीदार … सच्ची ! (3)
14  शादी के पहले छुपाई जाने वाली चीज़ें (2)
17  राकेश यान में, हर दूसरा खोने के बाद, पाता है घर का सामान (3)
18  इस समय यह चुनावी नारे में कहा गया (2,1,2)
20  छोटा गांधी और छोटा ग्रह (2)
22  शराबखाने में वो मिले जिसका नाम मीठा है (2)
24  पुरानी भाषा का प्रयोग होता है नगर-प्रशासन में (3)
27  जान लेना है क्या? मत पीटो (3)
28  शराफ़त से तुम पाप की शुरुआत नहीं करो (2)
29  दुनिया से भरोसे की आस चली गयी (2)
30  दस दीदियों के बीच दसगुणा सालों का समूह? (2)

PDF format available here.

Notes On The Crossword

  1. Word lengths are in syllables e.g. each of the words पहला, प्रथम, प्रदान will be enumerated as (3).
  2. Complex consonants go into a single cell e.g. वर्ग will be split into two cells, the first with , the second with र्ग.
  3. In wordplay, the matras may be treated independently of the letters e.g. राम may be anagrammed to give मार or मरा.

Solving Instructions

  1. Send in your completed entries to shuchi [at] crosswordunclued [dot] com, with the subject line "Hindi Cryptic Crossword 2 – Solution", latest by Thursday 14th August 2014.
  2. Entries should preferably be sent in this solution template – replace "Your Name" in the file name with your name. If not using the template, the solution should be legible and readable in a standard text or image reader. PNG, Excel, Word formats are all OK.
  3. Solution words should be in Devanagari script. [A tool like Quillpad can be used for typing in Hindi.]
  4. Entries should contain annotations for the answers. Any annotation format is all right – words or symbols, Hindi or English – as long as how you arrived at the answer is clear.

If you have any related questions, please post them in the comments section.

The Prize

The winner can choose any one of these prizes:

  • Flipkart gift voucher worth INR 1000
  • Amazon US gift card worth USD 15
  • Amazon UK gift card worth GBP 10

The solver with the maximum correct answers will win. In case of ties, the winner will be picked by a lucky draw.

The solution to the crossword and the winner's name will be announced in a follow-up post after 14th August 2014.

All the best, enjoy solving!

Update (21st August 2014): Solutions and winner announcement.

Related Posts:

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20 comments

ranger said...

Congratulations Shuchi! May you go from strength to strength.

Chaturvasi said...

Shuchi - What are the birthdays of your other five blogs? Jus' kidding!

Lakshmi Vaidyanathan said...

Happy b'day & Congrats Shuchi :)

Bhavan said...

Hearty congratulations Shuchi. Onwards and upwards.

Raghunath said...

Congratulations Shuchi for completing 5 years. May it attract many more fans like me. Thanks for a wonderful blog!

Kishore said...

Raghu, I think Shuchi says six in both words and figure

Deepak Gopinath said...

Shubh Kaamnayein [ Quillpad doesn't work here ;-) ]

Deepak Gopinath said...

शुभ कामनायें

Shuchi said...

Thank you everyone!

@ranger: Good to see you in the comment space. Long time! Thanks :-)

@CV Sir: Should've known you'd pick on the title ;-)

@LV, @Bhavan, @Raghunath: Thank you!

@Colonel: धन्यवाद!

Richard said...

Happy anniversary. All the best for the future.

Richard said...

मेरी तरफ़ से भी शुभ कामनाएँ.

anax said...

Happy 6th, Shuchi, and thank you for continuing to offer what is - for me - the most constantly fascinating crossword blog on the planet.
You are a star, and you are loved.

Boaz said...

Fantastic achievement, and a fantastic blog! Keep it up, Shuchi!

Shrikanth said...

Congrats Shuchi and a nice tribute elsewhere for the birthday :)

Raghunath said...

Sorry for the goof up on the number of years. Congrats anyway!

Shuchi said...

@Richard: आपको भी धन्यवाद! क्या आपने वर्ग पहेली -2 को अभी तक हल नहीं किया?

@anax, @Boaz: You are very kind :-) Thank you.

@Shrikanth: The tribute was a lovely surprise :-)

Nadathur Rajan said...

Please extend last day till this weekend (17th).

Shuchi said...

@Nadathur Rajan: Too late to extend the deadline now. It wouldn't be fair to those who did submit the answers within the given time frame of a week. I'll mention any all-correct entries on the results post, even if not eligible for the draw.

Richard said...

माफ़ कीजिएगा, शुचीज़ी. काफ़ी दिनों से मैं यहाँ वहाँ सफ़र (suffer) करता रहा. इसकी वजह से कोशिश नहीं कर सका.

Kishore said...

Richard bhai, you too have fallen prey to the pesky dot syndrome...