Benevolent towards returning Mayas odd, pitiable (11)

I believe the answer is:

sympathetic

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'benevolent' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'returning mayas odd pitiable' is the wordplay.
'returning' is a reversal indicator.
'odd' indicates alternate letters.
'pitiable' becomes 'pathetic' (synonyms).
The alternate letters of 'mayas' are 'mys'.
'mys' in reverse letter order is 'sym'.
'sym'+'pathetic'='SYMPATHETIC'

'towards' is the link.
This may not be correct. It may be part of another bit of the clue.

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(Other definitions for sympathetic that I've seen before include "Showing fellow-feeling" , "Likeable; sensitively designed" , "Compassionate" , "Solicitous" , "Likable" .)

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.

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