Wednesday 26 August 2015

Hindi Crossword 4: The Answers and the Winners

13 entries got all (or nearly all) of the answers right to Hindi Cryptic Crossword 4.

Here's what the completed grid should look like:

The Solution 

Hindi Crossword 4 Solution Grid

The explanation of the answers:

आर-पार

क्रमांक संकेत उत्तर टिप्पणी
1 संगीत यन्त्र में स्वर बदले पंडित
इन्होने किया औषधि शास्त्र को खंडित
वैद्य वाद्य (संगीत यन्त्र) with the vowel (स्वर) changed; Definitions: पंडित, इन्होने किया ओषधि शास्त्र को खंडित.
2 नाश्ते का यही वक़्त है, प्रभात,
न दिन-दोपहर न काली रात
सुबह D&CD; प्रभात = morning, which is the time for breakfast (neither day nor dark night)
4 हींग लहसुन का छिलका मददगार,
फेंकने से उसे करो इन्कार
नहीं Shell of हीं(ग लहसु)न jumbled; Definition: इन्कार
5 केशवदासजी छुपाए 6 नीचे? शव Hidden in केशवदासजी; Definition: reference to clue 6D
6 लय का अभ्यास करो चुस्त,
तभी मामला बने दुरुस्त
लायक (लय का)*; Definition: दुरुस्त
7 पीछे सुरीला ऋषभ, आगे चमड़ा हाथी का
नाम हो गया रांझे या मोती के साथी का
हीरे हाथी का चमड़ा = ही, सुरीला ऋषभ = रे (from music); Definition: references to the pairings हीरे-रांझे (from हीर-रांझा) and हीरे-मोती
9 शगुन, बारात और शादी की शुरुआत? सुनो मेरी सलाह
बिलकुल उल्टा कर दो इन्हे और पाओ मेरी वाह-वाह!
शाबाश First letters of शगुन, बारात and शादी, all reversed; Definition: वाह-वाह
11 बल का पतन?
लायें चुंबन का साधन
लब Reversal of बल; Definition: चुंबन का साधन
13 कोटर,
या पूरी-मटर?
खाना DD; Definition1: cell (as in compartment or pigeon-hole), Definition2: DBE for food.
16 ताप के उत्पात
का फल है ज्ञात
पता (ताप)*; Definition: ज्ञात
18 पटना-गया में मिलने वाला
रेंगता जीव बहुधा विषैला
नाग Hidden in पटना-गया; Definition: रेंगता जीव बहुधा विषैला
19 नहीं ! रक्त निकल सकता है
इस के इस्तेमाल से
नाखून ना (नहीं) + खून (रक्त); semi-&lit
22 अंग्रेजी में ऊपरवाला 9 होगा, पर हिंदी में इसे कह सकते हैं -
"पहले ऊँट पे रूमाली रोटी खा"
ऊपर रख First letters of ऊँट पे रूमाली रोटी खा; Definition: Hindi translation of 'keep it up', which means शाबाश (9a)
25 दबंग दिल से लगाए पैसा?
वह बन सकता है बेड़ियों जैसा
बंधन बं (heart of दबंग) + धन (पैसा); Definition: वह बन सकता है बेड़ियों जैसा
27 हाथ की रोकड़ नहीं लुटाई
तभी मिली ऐसी ऊँचाई
कद नकद (हाथ की रोकड़) with न (नहीं) lost; Definition: ऊँचाई
28 नाराज़ नाना
से इस बात को छुपाना
राज़ नाराज़ with ना 'ना' i.e. removed; Definition: इस बात को छुपाना
30 सम्पूरण सिंह कालरा की ब्याहता
के हाथ में इस को बाँधा जाता
राखी DD; Definition1: name of Sampooran Singh Kalra's wife; Definition2: हाथ में इस को बाँधा जाता
32 घातक सांप ने कुण्डल में जकड़ा
समूचे का बनाया बारीक़ टुकड़ा
कसा Hidden in घातक सांप; Definition: समूचे का बनाया बारीक़ टुकड़ा. कसा means 'grated'.
34 कोहरा न होते हुए भी नज़ारे धुंधले नज़र आवें,
कान पकड़कर नाक पे रखो इसे, आँखें चार हो जावें!
ऐनक CD
37 नारी किसी और ही ढंग की
चले तिरछी क्षैतिज या सीधी चाल चतुरंग की
रानी (नारी)*; Definition: चले तिरछी क्षैतिज या सीधी चाल चतुरंग की - moves of रानी in chess
39 खिंचाई हाथ-पाँव की, घुमाया जाना गर्दन का,
कई पहलवान करवायें इसे, यह काम है अंग-मर्दन का
मालिश CD
40 सूरज की पहली किरण से
रात के आखिर तक
बनाते हैं धागा
सूत सू (from सूरज) + from त (रात); Definition: धागा
41 बाईस से दो ग्यारह नौ दो ग्यारह हो गए - समझो इसे सही,
और सोचो उसके बाद क्या बचा? कुछ नहीं, कुछ भी नहीं
शून्य What remains when two 11s escape (नौ दो ग्यारह हो गए) from 22; Definition: कुछ नहीं, कुछ भी नहीं
42 पैसेवाले ईद की शुरुआत रस में डूबकर करते है रईस ई (from ईद) in रस; Definition: पैसेवाले
43 सरगम में सुर कितने हैं यार?
बहुत दूर है जितने समंदर पार
सात DD; Definition1: The number of musical notes; Definition2: Reference to the idiom सात समंदर पार

नीचे की ओर

क्रमांक संकेत उत्तर टिप्पणी
1 ठीक उसी तरह, वैदेही का दिल गया -
और फिर से बन गया
वैसे ही वैदेही - दे + से; Definition: ठीक उसी तरह
2 सोना चाहते हो
तो अच्छे रंग का इस्तेमाल करो
सुवर्ण अच्छे रंग = सुवर्ण; Definition: सोना
3 सदा के लिए शाह ने मुँह मोड़ लिया
फिर भी उसने थोड़ा मेवा निगल लिया
हमेशा शाह reversed, around मे (from मेवा); Definition: सदा के लिए
4 इसे उतारो बखूब
तो मिलेगा हूबहू प्रतिरूप
नकल CD
6 कैलाशनाथजी छुपाए 5 आर-पार? लाश hidden in कैलाशनाथजी; Definition: reference to clue 5A
8 मुज़फ्फर अली की उमराव जान को देखा?
वही जिसकी अदाकारा हैं भानु ___
रेखा FITB; the leading lady of the film Umrao Jaan
10 जुआरी फ़िल्मी मल्होत्राजी यूँ फ़रमाते हैं -
हारकर जीतने वाले ये कहलाते हैं
बाज़ीगर DD; Definition1: जुआरी; Definition2: Reference to the dialogue by Vicky Malhotra in the film Baazigar
12 सामने पड़े व्यंजन, तीन बार
चुनें बहुत ही नटखट रिश्तेदार
बहन 3 consonants (व्यंजन) from बहुत ही नटखट; Definition: रिश्तेदार
14 नाना पाटेकर
का आँकन कर
नाप Hidden in नाना पाटेकर; Definition: आँकन कर
15 जब खराब हो जाएगा नाम
तभी समझोगे ये है हराम
मना (नाम)*; Definition: हराम
17 छाता ऊपर से ढाल
छुपे बैठे देवी लाल
ताऊ Hidden in छाता ऊपर; Definition: देवी लाल
18 नटखट ऋषि जो स्वर्ग लोक से आया
मुन्नार-देवकोट्टई के बीच उसने डेरा जमाया
नारद Hidden in मुन्नार-देवकोट्टई; Definition: नटखट ऋषि जो स्वर्ग लोक से आया
20 खूंसट का पहला बच्चा
सामने से बने बहुत अच्छा
खूब खू (खूंसट का पहला) + ब (बच्चा
सामने से)l Definition: बहुत अच्छा
21 घी मक्खन छेना जिसकी मेहरबानी है,
उसके बिना चाय मानो काला पानी है
दूध CD
23 दीपक, वानरों के पास
हैं खाने की चीज़ें ख़ास
पकवान Hidden in दीपक वानरों; Definition: खाने की चीज़ ख़ास
24 राख यहाँ-वहाँ उड़ रही,
फिर भी, यही है सही
खरा (राख)*; Definition: सही
25 संदूक से सांड के सिर को निकाल कर, अरे ओ मेरे यार,
वहाँ बंदर का सिर रख दो, तो तुमको मिलेगा हथियार
बंदूक संदूक - स (सांड के सिर) + ब (बंदर का सिर); Definition: हथियार
26 यान को ठीक से घुमाओ,
और एक नूतन शब्द पाओ
नया Reversal of यान; Definition: नूतन
29 नज़राने के अंदर झाँक के देखो - कुछ तो दिखेगा ज़रा Hidden in नज़राने; Definition: कुछ
31 खरबूजे का टुकड़ा डालो, ईराकी कीमत लगाओ बाद में -
और इसको पाओ सलाद में!
खीरा ख (खरबूजे का टुकड़ा) followed by ईराकी without की ('की' मत लगाओ); Definition: इसको पाओ सलाद में!
33 साथी शुरू करें, अन्य करें विराम
दोनो मिल खायें थोड़ा माल्दा आम
सामान्य Start [सा]थी, end with अन्य, put मा between them. Definition: आम
34 आनंद है!
श्वेता नंदा इनकी "नंद" है!
ऐश DD; Definition1: आनंद; Definition2: Reference to Aishwarya Rai, whose sister-in-law is Shweta Nanda
35 गुरु थे स्वामी रामानंद,
जिनके हाथ में बीन का टुकड़ा है बंद
कबीर बी (बीन का टुकड़ा) in कर (हाथ); Definition: गुरु थे स्वामी रामानंद, जिनके
36 जा सूंघ सवारियों के सर,
और नज़र आएगा गुप्तचर
जासूस First letters of जा सूंघ सवारियों; Definition: गुप्तचर
38 गोपनीयता में डूबा
ऐसा कुछ मंसूबा
नीयत Hidden in गोपनीयता; Definition: मंसूबा

What you said…

Thanks for the very positive feedback to this crossword. I hope that those who solved partly/didn't submit also enjoyed the clues they did solve.

Many of you marked the clues you liked in the grid - thank you very much for doing that. I'm glad the circular reference in 5a and 6d went down well. Kishore who wrote those clues was concerned that the lack of a proper definition might be unfair, so it's heartening to see praise for that pair. Looks like the माल्दा आम (33d) and रस में डूबे पैसेवाले (42a) were the universal favourites.

We received several other interesting comments with the entries. Quoting a few…

4d (नकल): बखूब & हूबहू palindromes: same from both directions – replica

The clue was written as a cryptic definition – the palindromic property of the clue's text was unintended!

41a (शून्य): अन्य also works, because it means remainder, which is what 0 is in this case.

Not really - अन्य means remainder only in the sense of rest/other, it does not mean the difference of subtraction (that would be शेष). Besides, the clue has a clear definition in कुछ नहीं, कुछ भी नहीं.

22a (ऊपर रख): the word ऊपर could have been avoided in the wordplay

Agreed – and well caught!

34a (ऐनक): Awesome clue! :) Both my bespectacled grandkids loved this

Thank you! This was the first clue written for the puzzle.

18a (नाग): I am from NAGpur, hiss…

…and we received this entry on the eve of Nag Panchami.

19a (नाखून): …similar riddle by the great Amir Khusro, who composed many riddles in verse:
बीसों का सर काटा
ना मारा {ना ख़ून} किया

This comment led to an exchange of mails with the solver about Amir Khusro's riddles – a delightful revelation to me. In Khusro's riddles I saw a new world of lovely puns, cryptic/double definitions playing on different meanings of words in Hindi and Persian, unusual rhyme schemes beyond the couplet. Our solver has assembled the write-up about Amir Khusro's riddles in a blog post - hop over and take a look at the examples.

I was prepared for objections to the non-standard spelling of ननद in 34d. I thought the quote marks, plus the fact that that's the way the word gets pronounced in a Punjabi dialect, would justify the usage. Since there were no protests, I guess it worked fine!

Applause for…

…the 13 of you with perfect (or near perfect) solutions:

Poongothai Ramki Krishnan
Mohsin Ahmed Sanket Srivastava
Vasant Srinivasan Vinayak Rao Ekbote
Pratima Manik Raju Umamaheshwar
Arvind Ramaswamy Vidyadhar Gadgil
Laxman Rao Sandhya Jagdish
Lakshmi Vaidyanathan  

It is remarkable that many solvers who completed the puzzle do not know Hindi as a primary/native language. I hope this inspires more cryptic crossword solvers to attempt puzzles in Hindi. The simpler clueing techniques plus stronger grid checking are sure to help!

Shortlist to 4:
Our first tie-breaker was the accuracy of wordplay parsing. With that filter, we zoomed in on four solvers with 100% accurate parsing.

Mohsin Ahmed Sandhya Jagdish
Pratima Manik Sanket Srivastava

We must turn to our second tie-breaker next – the lucky draw. But before that…

The Elusive Theme

Till the afternoon of the last day, nobody had cracked the theme. By this point, Kishore and I felt that the theme prize would remain unclaimed. We were pondering over how to take this situation forward.

Neither of us wanted to disclose the unsolved theme in the solutions post. We decided to write about the "red herring" theme (the one that many of you figured out), give out an additional hint about the main theme, and let you take another shot at it. If it stayed unsolved after all that, we would wait patiently till an indefinite future for any solver to see it and claim the prize. "If nobody cracks it ever, so be it", we agreed – we would never ourselves reveal the theme. Kishore went so far as to say the secret will go with our respective 5a and 6d…

As it turned out, our melodrama was not required.

A few hours before the deadline, the solver who is well known in The Hindu Crossword forums for being able to "anno the unannoable" cracked the theme with the themed entries identified.

Hats off to you, Sandhya Jagdish!

Along with the Hindi Crossword 4 announcement, we had said:

This crossword has a theme. Actually, two themes: a main theme and a mini "red herring" theme. One answer to an Across clue is common to both themes.

The answer to the clue common to both themes was 25a: बंधन.

बंधन (bandhan) is bond. Many of you saw the answers that linked with Raksha Bandhan, the celebration of the bond between siblings.

Raksha Bandhan was the theme we expected you to see. The "red herring" theme.

The main theme? Bond. James Bond.

वैद्य, नहीं, शव, हीरे, खून, बंधन, राज़, रानी, शून्य, सात, सुवर्ण, लाश, हमेशा, बंदूक, जासूस, कबीर are words translated from Bond movie titles / words that relate to the Bond universe (including the name of the actor who played a role in Octopussy).

Hindi Crossword 4 Solution Grid - Theme Highlighted

Your guesses about the theme go to show how words of a certain type find their way into the crossword without conscious planning. Some of the interesting themes identified by you, which were entirely unintended:

food (khana, pakvaan, kheera, doodh, etc.),
body and its accoutrements (laash, shav, naakhun, naap, kad, etc.),
Shahrukh Khan (Baazigar, Raees),
names of film actresses (Rekha, Aish, Rakhi, Rani)

The Bollywood motif is pretty much unavoidable when we set, especially when my co-setter sets :-) Remember Madhubala, Nutan, Ramesh Deo and their comrades from the the previous grids? That is signature style, no hidden theme.

The Theme Prize: Clear Winner!

No contest here! Sandhya Jagdish – INR 500 gift voucher for you.

The Correct Answers Prize: Who Gets Lucky?

Four solvers tied at top place: Mohsin Ahmed, Sandhya Jagdish, Pratima Manik, Sanket Srivastava.

To pick one lucky solver for the prize, Kishore does the honours… [RSS/email subscribers: You may have to go to the blog for the video.]

It's your day, Sandhya Jagdish! भाग्य too is by your side. You get another INR 1000 gift voucher for your all-correct answers. Enjoy your prizes :-)

Thanks to everyone for taking part. Hope you had lots of fun!

Related Posts:

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22 comments

Lakshmi Vaidyanathan said...

Congrats Sandhya :)

@Shuchi & Kishore - When I first saw the clues, was in a doubt if I could even solve atleast a few, since I can speak & read, but not too good in Hindi literature . But surprisingly the clues were very smooth & enjoyed solving :)

Kishore said...

Pardon the not very professional selfie- it was my first one ...I am a bit RAW...

Lakshmi Vaidyanathan said...

शाबाश To both Shuchi & Kishore for an wonderful CW with a good theme :) Hats off to both of you !

SandhyaP said...

Thank you Shuchi and Kishore! Kudos to you for creating a crossword with couplets! :)

SandhyaP said...

Kishore, your selfie turned out fine! :P

Raghunath said...

Congratulations Sandhya and also the other three who were shortlisted.

Nice work Shuchi & Kishore.

Nice to hear the theme music of Bond movies playing in the background music in the clip where Kishore picked the winner out. Kishore, if you are RAW then is Bond the enemy or friendly agent?

Mukundala Balasubramanyam said...

Hats off to you, Sandhya ma'am! Congrats!!

Kishore said...

@Sandhya: Of course it turned out fine... it must have been music to your ears!

@Raghu: Just a secret agent, so secret that I don't know who I am working for! Just kidding. As I put it in the first sentence, I am on "Her Majesty" 's service in this video

Shuchi said...

Congratulations Sandhya! Let me know your choice of voucher, it'll be on its way soon. Check your inbox :-)

Sanket Shrivastava said...

Wow! Well done Sandhya, on the theme. There was no way I could have cracked it in 007 years! And many congratulations on your luck. Fortune favours the brave... Well done, MAC and Pratima, too.

Thanks for the jollies, Shuchi and Kishore. Going through the post, it dawned on me that my name means "clue" also. Every one solving a Hindi crossie has to crack a "Sanket". No wonder I am so crazy, about cryptics... :P

Sanket / Bombadil

Kishore said...

Samajhdaar ko sirf ek sanket hee kaafi hai

SandhyaP said...

Thank you Raghunath, MB, Shuchi & Sanket
!

Vasant said...

Congrats Sandhya...the queen of annos the deserving winner...
Thoroughly enjoyed the puzzle...absolutely superb work....what a monumental effort

Chaturvasi said...

I said I don't know Hindi, by which I mean I don't know as much as I would have liked to know.
Sanket, I think I had an opportunity to tell you that 'sanket' means 'hint'.
In Tamil there's the expression "சங்கேத பாஷை" (sanketha bhaashai), which means a language of hints/cues/signs that only a select few can understand).

Sowmya said...

That was a fun post Shuchi and Kishore, Fabulous crossword with couplets, theme, red herring and Bond, James Bond who came in to serve Her majesty In style:) All the ingredients of a pot boiler:) Awesome and very well deserved win Sandy. Congrats to Mohsin, Pratima and Sanket too.

SandhyaP said...

Thanks Vasant & Sowmya!

Kishore said...

@Sowmya : Thanks! Always at Her Majesty's service! ;-)

Deepak Gopinath said...

Congrats Sandhya

Deepak Gopinath said...

Kishore, I hope you enjoyed the 'Fish fry' :-)

Kishore said...

@Deepak: yes, especially since it was "curry" meen!

Kishore said...

Deepak, you star as yourself in 23d and a bit disguised in 38d :)

Sanket Shrivastava said...

@Chaturvasi Sir

Right you are! You were the first to point it out! :)

Thanks, Sowmya Akka.