This Indian crossword expert's new website aims to encourage desi enthusiasts

Mangesh Ghogre

Being put off by a crossword is quite common. For decades, Indians have been solving cryptic crosswords, which are usually tougher to get through. And as many newspapers in India usually reprint crosswords designed for papers in the West, and syndicated from the UK or the US, these chequered puzzles rarely have clues keeping the Indian context in mind.

This is exactly what crossword constructor Mangesh Ghogre is trying to solve. A Mumbaikar, Ghogre moved to the US in 2023 after receiving the Einstein visa. He now constructs crosswords for The New York Times.

However, on his website, Ghogre posts Indian mini crosswords that his countrymen can successfully solve. "The agenda I follow for myself is that my crossword puzzles should not be solvable by an American or a non-Indian," he says.

Ghogre plays around with his clues across various themes, including cricket, Bollywood, '90s nostalgia, new-age Mumbai slang. "I frequently have songs in my crosswords. Tip is an English word, but instead of cluing it as ‘tip', I will clue it as ‘tip tip barsa pani'. Many words have different meanings in English and Hindi, so I play around with those as well. Bollywood brings in a bit of a Hinglish version - the Mumbai slang is added because I grew up there. And I prefer the '90s, because most of my solvers are from that era. Besides, who doesn't love the '90s? And the new generation's slang is pretty easy because these are trending words," he says, explaining why he focuses on these themes.

Take the crossword challenge included with this story, which is also made by Mangesh Ghogre

Long before Ghogre began designing mini crosswords for an Indian audience on his website, he created a Taj Mahal-themed crossword in 2023 for the New York Times on India's Independence Day. Designed in the shape of the Taj Mahal, New Yorkers solved the puzzle and began recognising Ghogre for the Indian flavour he added to his puzzle constructions. "There are two options I have. Either I can insert Indian words into the grid, like Brahma or Sita. Or in the clue. For example, if the word is snow, instead of an Alps feature, I can construct it as a Himalayan feature."

Working as an investment banker and puzzle constructor, Ghogre only moved to the US in 2023 after he received the Einstein visa. Ghogre now also runs an active WhatsApp community of solvers aged 10 to 80. Of course, it never hurts to add more. "I don't target any particular audience. But 60 to 70 per cent of my solvers are female. So I clue to appeal to them," he says.

As he's looking for more Indians to take up solving crosswords, the focus is on mini crosswords. Ghogre's idea is to not overwhelm the audience. He creates a batch of crosswords every fortnight but releases one every day so his audience can solve the puzzle of the day.

To keep solvers glued in, the website also has a leaderboard, analytics, and more features to keep track of their improvements and solves.

But are there enough crossword enthusiasts around? "India has the largest English-speaking population on the planet. And every day you see how much we enjoy language, politicians play with it, film stars, their wordplay, everywhere. But we don't get a chance to hone that skill or to practice it," says Ghogre, adding that people enjoy puzzle-solving for various reasons. For some, it's the thrill of gaming; for many, the increased accessibility of crosswords from paper to websites and apps has had them hooked. "It's the way you look at it. You can look at it as education, you can also look at it as entertainment or a way to test yourself and sharpen your mind. My vision is that if I get a good number of solvers, I will develop a new game altogether. That's something which I keep thinking about. The ‘aha' moment [one gets after a solve] has to reach as many people as possible."