![]() ![]() “The crossword as a technology has changed remarkably little since the early 1900s, yet the form continues to have ever-greater capacity to respond to contemporary ideas,” Raphael says, adding that she is constantly blown away by constructors’ ingenuity with the grid. What was seen as a quintessential ‘old people’ activity is now a great way for youngsters to exercise their brains, and crossword creators are happy to evolve with the times. We witnessed participants from all regions in the country vying for the honours at our events in large numbers.” “For a vast country like India, despite our best efforts, distance poses a problem. ![]() “It also brings life to the activity itself.”Īmitabh Ranjan of Extra-C, a body that hosts inter-school and college crossword contests, explains that the Internet also helped collaborative cruciverbalism overcome geographical handicaps. This appeals to newcomers, says Anjali Mallena, the convenor of the Word Games Club of IIT Madras, because the sharing of annotations and tips makes learning easier. Santhanam too highlights how in her group, someone will correctly parse part of a clue, and others piggyback on that to solve the puzzle. After all, not making progress alone can be frustrating, and demotivating. ![]() “In the world of crosswords, many heads are better than one,” agrees Salgaocar. ![]() It has been proven that diverse teams solve problems better, and the same applies for cruciverbalism. When playing with friends, it becomes far more memorable. “Having three-four people solve the puzzle means that we can work together, build on each other’s thoughts, and crack clues that none of us could do alone.”įew things beat the ‘Aha!’ moment when you finally find a tough word. In fact, I didn’t think crosswords could be a group activity, but it’s actually more fun with all of you,” Sinha admits, finally, after two years of cribbing about having to share his screen. “I hadn’t planned on this becoming a group activity. Otherwise, come rain, hail, or Covid-19, the grid has never stopped. In almost two years now, I’ve missed Crossword Night only once, and that was during my sister’s wedding. What followed is slightly immoral (if not illegal) - we seized his means of entertainment, cajoling him into sharing his screen so that all of us could solve together. Swapnil Sinha, a student at IIM Calcutta, had subscribed to the online crosswords of an American site to keep himself entertained during the pandemic, a fact he innocently announced on our eight-member group chat. But soon, I had a third reason driving my hobby - I brought in my friends. I was always interested in words and trivia (I’m a writer and quizzer), and research proves that sufficiently challenging crosswords help with reducing anxiety. I noticed that I’d find myself craving that hour of rest and concentration via the grid, as I would get to think about something other than death, waves and the new variants. Raphel’s words hold true for me - my own tryst with crosswords also began during the pandemic. “The Internet and the crossword get along fantastically…one of the coolest impacts I’ve seen is it really encourages cultures of collaboration - seasoned cruciverbalists regularly mentor newbies…and people have really strengthened community ties in a field that can feel quite solitary.”Īs a space for sharing diverse cultural references, the crossword is more relevant than ever, says Adrienne Raphel, author of ‘Thinking Inside the Box’. “Collaborative solving majorly took off in the pandemic, as a way for people to be apart yet deeply engaged together,” Adrienne Raphel, author of Thinking Inside the Box, a book tracing the history and evolution of crosswords, says. Santhanam and Salgaocar are just two examples of a slow but sure phenomenon gripping young people: ‘ collaborative cruciverbalism’, or the act of doing crosswords as an interactive group activity, rather than solving solo. You will have a seasoned solver in their 60s or 70s, alongside a beginner who is learning by observation and osmosis.” “It’s really fun to collaborate, and it democratises the whole thing. “I’m now part of crossword groups on WhatsApp, where we set - and share - cryptic clues,” Santhanam says. “In this way, our tradition has kept on going.”īut her mother is not the only person Santhanam solves crosswords with. “Every day, around 8 am, we send each other pictures of how much we’ve solved,” she says. Much like sharing Wordle scores, the two still do crosswords together - over WhatsApp. Meanwhile, writer Anuradha Santhanam got into crosswords in her childhood thanks to her mother. Also Read | Can you solve the world’s oldest crossword from 1913? ![]()
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