Secretary of School Education and literacy Department Aradhna Patnaik today launched the city level CBSE Cryptic Crossword Contest -2017 organised by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) here at Delhi Public School, Ranchi. Patnaik was the chief guest on the occasion.
Cryptic Crossword is a linguistic workout which not only tests one’s vocabulary but also sharpens one’s ability to interpret clues. In short, cryptic crosswords are crossword puzzles in which each clues is a word puzzle in and of it. It also helps develop cognitive skills such as making inferences, evaluating alternatives and drawing conclusions.
A total of 38 teams from different schools of the city participated in an hour long preliminary test at the end of which the best two teams were selected. Each team comprised of 2 students. After much brain storming Saphaire International represented by Kavya Kapoor and Debjani Bera was crowned as the winner, DPS Ranchi represented by Mrinalini and Anwesh Das and Surendranath Centenary Ranchi represented by Aviraj and Aditya Anshul took home the title of runner up and 1st runner up. The winning team and runner up team will be heading for the National Capital for the final round, competing with other 78 teams of the country. The prizes were given away by Patnaik.
Dr. Ram Singh Principal, DPS, Ranchi while addressing the gathering said that Cryptic Crossword enables a child to think laterally. It was also stated by him that the prime intension of hosting such contests in the school is to motivate the children to broaden their horizon, as these contests give the children a chance to think out of the box and strive for perfection in education mainly having the pleasure of learning with a blend of modern technique and real life learning. He also thanked the chief guest for taking out time from her busy schedule.
The chief guest congratulated the students for their brilliant performance and said that apart from academics all round personality development is a must for the well being of students irrespective of the fact whether they are studying in government schools or private schools. She also said that how the four Cs are relevant in a students life, and will enable then to develop concentration, competitiveness, creativity and confidence. For the ones who could not make it she said there is always a next time and people should not lose heart.