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A cross-word addict!

Discussion in 'Cheeniya's Senile Ramblings' started by Cheeniya, Mar 5, 2007.

  1. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    A crossword addict!
    Are you a Crossword addict? Are you in the habit of squeezing the juice out of the last few grey cells in your tiny head to find the word for ‘virtual broadcast system ripe for exploitation at the ring (7)’? Then you must listen to this story, the story of Dhamu and Radha.

    Dhamu and Radha were the most envied pair in my college and it used to be rumoured that most of the celebrated moviemakers of those days were eyeing them to be cast in their films. True to the saying that all the world loved a lover, we were solidly behind Dhamu, doing small but significant errands like arranging a meeting for them, acting as couriers for the exchange of their love notes etc. As most of you know, the lovers always tend to present their best side to their loved ones and effectively conceal their darker side during their passionate courtship. When they get married, the darker side starts getting visible and that can disconcert even the stout-hearted ones. It is thus most of the love marriages run into rough weather in the course of time.

    Dhamu is a great Crossword addict and if he concealed this sinister side of his from Radha, it was not intentional. One must say in his defense that no lover on earth would spend the few precious moments that he could steal with his beloved in solving Crossword puzzles. But Radha took a very serious view of Dhamu’s addiction to Crosswords. Of course it would be difficult not to sympathise with her and I shall tell you why.

    Dhamu is not an ordinary Crossword addict. His addiction is not restricted to the few moments when he is in the most absorbing task of solving a Crossword but extends to his whole gamut of operations. He is never to have known to give a direct answer to any question put to him. One day I visited him at his house. After the usual courtesies were exchanged, his wife Radha brought us some tea and biscuits. Dhamu took a few long sips and peered at the bottom of the cup. He hailed his wife and informed her that the capacity to remain afloat was beyond a withered shoot. She grimaced, collected the cups and made a beeline to the kitchen with a stiff upper lip. Viewing the look of askance on my face, Dhamu confessed that his wife always got worked up because of her inability to understand his statements. He went on to say that whatever he told her would be comprehensible even to a child. ‘My prehensile comb is bent but can be understood’, he claimed. ‘The trouble with her’, he continued,'is that she makes the outcome of a decision to publish of every statement I make’ ! I could see the anguish on his face that was about the only thing that I could decipher and realized that his relationship with his wife was far from satisfactory.

    Just then his wife walked in to enquire what would we like to have for dinner. ‘The female of the species should earn her respect before offering her finger’, Dhamu replied and his wife flew into a rage. Feeling acutely embarrassed, I muttered some excuse and left the place abruptly.

    A few months later, I heard that Dhamu’s wife had filed her papers for a divorce and the case was on. Believe me, the entire circle of my friends was on Radha’s (Dhamu’s wife in case you had forgotten her name) side. In fact all of us were even very angry with Dhamu. ‘ If you want a glass of water, why don’t you say so instead of referring to it as one of the five elements that keeps fish alive?’ shouted one of them in disgust. ‘The idiot deserves it’ was our unanimous verdict.

    But when the case came for hearing before the learned Judge, he wanted to give Dhamu a say as was the wonted custom among the judiciary. ‘What have you to say?’ the Judge asked Dhamu adding ‘How do you want this settled?’ And Dhamu true to his form replied ‘In the morning one telegram can be friendly’ The Judge decreed the case in Radha’s favour without a further hearing.

    The moral of the story is- Go slow on those Crosswords! It could rock your marriage too!’
     
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2023
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  2. Vidya24

    Vidya24 Gold IL'ite

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    Good again,Cheeniya! Cross words and cross roads- who can resist them in a life time?
     
  3. sathya

    sathya Gold IL'ite

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    hello

    cross with crossword addicts
    cross that we are at cross roads to find that simple word
    cross my heart i didnt know it can lead to divorce..
    cross words up and
    cross down .. i thought wouldnt
    cross with grey matter simple..
    cross having to think the opposite too..!!

    Do not cross just walk over haha

    sathya
     
  4. Chitvish

    Chitvish Moderator IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Sri,
    in "our days" it used to be only cross words, but now Soduku is almost vying for the first place. A young friend of mine is such a soduku addict that in the mornings, her husband gets his coffee only after the soduku in Hindu is solved by her ! Angry exchanges follow inevitably :evil: .
    Not only that, she does soduku, sitting on the dining table & chair that she has now gone in for spondulosis, having kept her neck bent, undisturbed for a long time. Though difficult to believe, the orthoepadic doctor gives that as a new reason cropping up for increasing spondulosis. Thankfully, her answers to his queries do not come in the form of numerals yet !:)
    After reading your post, I fear they should not go the Radha - Dhamu way !:icon_frown:

    Let me confess that I am also a cross-word addict to a certain extent. Now, I feel, i know my limits because we still remain married after all these years. If I do not get even one solution right, that keeps on working in my mind till I get it, but thankfully do not have the habit like Dhamu. Vish is saved !:mrgreen:
    Love,
    Chithra.
     
  5. abhatv

    abhatv Senior IL'ite

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    Hello Cheeniya sir,

    My sympathies are all with Radha. There is a limit to anybody's patience. Why do you want to go in a roundabout away when you can say things clearly in a few simple words?


    Regards,

    Abha.
     
  6. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Chithra
    Sudoku or is it Soduku has already gobbled a third of world population and could well be the major reason for divorces in a decade! But it has its plus points too. Only I dont know what they are!
    I have greater admiration for the creators of crosswords than the solvers. It is mindboggling how they can come up with such puzzling brain teasers!
    i remember the Croowords of The Illustrated weekly of India. I once won Rs 2 in one of them! That was the time when the market got crowded with professional crosswords like RMDC, Olympic etc. While trying to solve them, I used to feed only on my fingernails!
    Sri
     
  7. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear abha
    I guess some folks tend to get bored with a straight approach and when they need fun they take to such routes! But it is ok as long as one knows his limits like out HOF Chithra!:)
    Sri
     
  8. chitrajan

    chitrajan Bronze IL'ite

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    Dear Sr. Sri,

    I have been a crossword and word games addict from my school days and of late even of sudoku -- but thankfully have not come to the level of your friend or else T would have suffered like Radha. :wink: :mrgreen:

    Even today it is crossword/sudoku which helps me while away my time during my travel to and from office.

    And last but not the least, who else but you could come up with something like this ?

    Hats off and keep it up!
     
    Last edited: May 27, 2007
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  9. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Chitra
    I was just going thro the crossword in today's The Hindu. It is really mindboggling how you people could ever solve those riddles!
    And thanks for the compliment!
    Sri
     
  10. Lavanya

    Lavanya Bronze IL'ite

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    Addiction for that matter in any form can rock relationships unless they are mutually benefiting & enjoyed by all in that relationship.
    As far as Sudoku is concerned I sincerely think it helps to keep one's arithmatic ability limber especially as you try to knock down the puzzle quicker. Many studies have showed that simple tasks such as reading can delay the onset & progression of many neurological disorders like Parkinson's & Alzheimer's. Similarly the more complex problem solving skills that we continue to use as we age keeps our grey cells smoking. :2thumbsup: Also breaking habitual rituals & shaking things even a small amount (like changing the order in which you do certain chores when you wake up every morning) helps to create new neural networks to foster a young & healthy mind.
     

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