A few days back, 3rd December 2020 to be precise, Dr X had given an excellent and very memorable clue in THE HINDU Crossword.
Divorce lawyer perhaps — one producing a definite result at court (3-7)
I liked the technique used in it very much and wanted to imitate that. So it was a a pre-determined technique looking for a word (or phrase) that would be appropriate for that device. An unusual expreience for me as I normally take a word and think of ways of writing a clue (in MS Viswanathan's terminology "matter first, meter second"!). Perhaps that is the way most people do. I don't know that for sure as I haven't had occasions to discuss with other puzzle creators. Then I thought why not think of a word from the same context as Dr X did! So Divorce Lawyer gave way to MATCH MAKER and the following clue was born on 13th December:
Perhaps a worker in Sivakasi who forms unions (5,5)
(Sivakasi is not just a town famous for Deepavali pattaasu, it is also a major manufacturing centre for match boxes).
But the word MATCH in singular is not used with this meaning conventionally. (In fact Sherlock Holmes, in one of his cases, guesses correctly that a person who communicated through with one-word notes must be a foreigner because he wrote MATCH instead of MATCHES.) Hope this minor aberration is acceptable. I'd be happy to see your comments on this. And also be grateful if any one points out the specific story of Arthur Conan Doyle where this MATCH/MATCHES distinction is used to resolve the mystery. Here is the page with the list of solvers for the clue of 13th December.
Divorce lawyer perhaps — one producing a definite result at court (3-7)
I liked the technique used in it very much and wanted to imitate that. So it was a a pre-determined technique looking for a word (or phrase) that would be appropriate for that device. An unusual expreience for me as I normally take a word and think of ways of writing a clue (in MS Viswanathan's terminology "matter first, meter second"!). Perhaps that is the way most people do. I don't know that for sure as I haven't had occasions to discuss with other puzzle creators. Then I thought why not think of a word from the same context as Dr X did! So Divorce Lawyer gave way to MATCH MAKER and the following clue was born on 13th December:
Perhaps a worker in Sivakasi who forms unions (5,5)
(Sivakasi is not just a town famous for Deepavali pattaasu, it is also a major manufacturing centre for match boxes).
But the word MATCH in singular is not used with this meaning conventionally. (In fact Sherlock Holmes, in one of his cases, guesses correctly that a person who communicated through with one-word notes must be a foreigner because he wrote MATCH instead of MATCHES.) Hope this minor aberration is acceptable. I'd be happy to see your comments on this. And also be grateful if any one points out the specific story of Arthur Conan Doyle where this MATCH/MATCHES distinction is used to resolve the mystery. Here is the page with the list of solvers for the clue of 13th December.
Comments
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_How *Sivakasi* came to be called so ?._
When Hindus just hear the very name 'Kaasi', it evokes religious sentiments with them. 'Kaasi', a place where every devout Hindu is expected to visit once in his lifetime. Apart from that there are two other Kaasi's in Tamil Nadu -Tenkasi (meaning the Southern Kaasi) located near Courtallam, close to Kerala and Sivakasi (Kaasi of Siva) located at South of Madurai. It is interesting to note how Sivakasi came to be called so. The king, Ankesari Parakrama Pandyan ruled the southern region of Madurai, with his capital at Tenkasi. He wished to establish a Siva temple at Tenkasi and he had planned to visit Kaasi Varanasi to worship Lord Siva there and bring a Linga from there.While returning to his place with the prized Linga a few miles past Madurai, he took rest under a groove of Vilva trees. When the king woke up to continue his journey after his overnight halt,the cow that carried the Sivalinga, being brought from Varnasi, refused to move from there, for all coaxing and coercing. Moreover, the princess attained puberty that night which prohibited the carrying of the Linga. As events thus overtook auspicious time for the already proposed plan of consecrating the Linga at Tenkasi, the king reverentially placed the Linga in the place where he had halted and proceeded to Tenkasi. The place which was sanctified by the Sivalinga brought from Kaasi, henceforth came to be called Sivakasi.
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*Match making* is ofcourse a cottage industry which employs only adults to took up raw materials and semi finished goods. They are also doing the packaging jobs.
Origin:
During the period of Gandhiji's Swadeshi Movement, they went to Calcutta in 1921 to study the industrial technology and brought the same to our country. The first machine WIMCO was brought and since it fails to meet the requirements of the country, Nadar brother studied the art of match production to fulfill the needs. Later Lucifer Match Industry and Bharat Match Industry, the first unit of South India, were started at *Sivakasi* by them.
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Perhaps a worker in Sivakasi Who forms unions (5,5)
a worker in Sivakasi
= match maker
unions = wedding
Who forms unions
= match maker
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*Matchmaking* is the process of matching two or more people together, usually for the purpose of marriage
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In some cultures, the role of the *matchmaker* was and is quite professionalised. The Hindu astrologer, were often thought to be essential advisors and also helped in finding right spouses as they had links and a relation of good faith with the families.
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