Some of the regular readers of this blog will faintly remember Mangesh Ghogre. He used to comment here when we had the old TMS Daily Crosswords and he had also shared with us one of his published articles on crossword.
Mangesh, an Indian citizen, is an investment banker with a global bank based in Mumbai. Today he became the first India-based constructor to have a puzzle published by the LA Times, a remarkable achievement for a non-native English speaker.
Mangesh has been in contact with me since his first appearance in our blog and kept me updated with his construction effort. I am very impressed by his persistence and perseverance. He also amazes me with his writings on spirituality and his volunteer work.
What's the inspiration for this puzzle? And what are the other theme answers that failed to make the cut?
Well, I am a foodie. So, I thought why not have crosswords for breakfast as well? Fun apart, I recollect the trigger entry was BREAD AND BUTTER and wanted the theme to focus on latter half. Then I added CHALK AND CHEESE and COOKIES AND CREAM. The fourth entry is the one I took some time to find. When I got MIDDLE AGE SPREAD, Nancy suggested selecting more focused entries related to spread. That’s how the final set emerged. Talking of themes, I must confess that sometimes I struggle with “in-the-language test” because of my lack of familiarity with local language. I discovered that phrases/idioms popular in India, may not be in US. For eg, while working on this theme, I was surprised to learn that CHALK AND CHEESE is not in-the-language although it’s a valid English idiom.
What kind of difficulties did you go through to make the grid work?
Filling the theme and non-theme entries is fun though it could get taxing at times. But as a constructor, designing the grid is my Achilles’ heel. I am told designing a grid is an art. Even the software doesn’t help much. Like they say, you need an “eye” to make out if the grid will work.
What is it like to work with Rich Norris? What have you learned about his theme/fill preferences?
From the limited experience I have gained interacting with him, I think he is one of the most professional editors I have come across. He diligently responds to emails and provides feedback for improvement. Interacting with him makes you feel that your contribution is welcome and your effort is appreciated. Frankly, I am not yet ready to comment much about his theme/fill preferences.
Can you tell us a bit about your background? How did you develop an interest in crossword solving and then constructing?
I am an Indian citizen based in Mumbai. I have an under-graduate degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA with a major in finance. Currently, I am working in the Investment Banking division of one of the world’s largest banks. I stay with my wife and parents in Panvel – a small town on the outskirts of Mumbai.
Though all my education has been in English, it is not my first language. My mother-tongue is Marathi – one of the many languages spoken in India. I am also fluent in Hindi, the more popular language in India.
My friends tell me, and I agree, that I always had a hang for words. But my first encounter with crosswords goes back 13 years when I had just entered my engineering course and was staying in the college hostel. Every morning, when I and my hostel room-mates were busy having morning breakfast, we used to gaze at the “white-and-black painting” called crossword. Since many of us had an eye on cracking the GRE/GMAT, we looked at it as an activity to improve vocabulary. I remember 5 or 6 of us started with a lot of enthusiasm. But as you can imagine, the enthusiasm quickly faded. You won’t believe, but for the first 3 months we did not need a pen! We didn’t know a word – other than filling S for plural answers. Soon we found out the only way to improve is to painstakingly check answers for every clue next morning. Though my other friends gave up, I continued. I bought a small pocket-diary and started noting crosswordese, various rivers, flowers, animals, cities, Bible trivia, suffix, prefix, Greek gods and goddesses, etc. I couldn’t carry the diary everywhere, so I culled it in 2 pages. If it interests you, here is one of them. And before I knew it, I became obsessed with solving crosswords. I think it took me a year or so to fully solve a crossword – unassisted! Since then, I never looked back. I have been happily solving the daily crossword in Times of India (which syndicates the LAT puzzle) for the past 13 years now.
Constructing crossword is a very recent phenomenon for me. Sometime last March, I felt that it is the next step. Some sort of changing gears. And what motivated me more was that I didn’t know much of American trivia and local stuff. So, what better way than to construct a puzzle myself. I remember I promised to gift myself a crossword on my birthday in May. I downloaded the trial version of the CCW software. Took up a random puzzle which had got published that week. Made a theme that fit it. Banged my head all over to get the non-theme fill. And Eureka! I had my first crossword ready for the B-day. But, it was nowhere up to the mark. Maybe I was being maverick or plain foolish, I sent it to Rich. Kind that he is, he politely explained to me the reason for the rejection. But his response made me sniff success – I knew I was not that far. I then joined Cruciverb mailing list – the online mecca of cruciverbalists, I must say. That led me to enroll in what I call the “University of Nancy Salomon”. She is so helpful. I can’t thank her enough.
What's your experience solving American style puzzles? I often feel frustrated and handicapped by my background.
I echo your feelings. Add to it that I have not once visited US and am not a reading enthusiast either. I used to wonder – when will I ever visit Lake Erie? Who is Slammin Sammy? How is EGAD a euphemistic oath? When will I taste POI/TARO (Sorry, I told you am a foodie!)? And in late 90s there were not many blogs like yours that discussed puzzles threadbare. It took me years to realise why the clue for ASPEN is quaking tree. It was as if I was a “non-resident American” who knew scads of local lingo and trivia but hadn’t once used it in daily life. When I started, I used to be so frustrated that so many times I have tore the paper to pieces and muttered quite a few unmentionables. But, with due credit to all those constructors and editors, the tickle next morning while reading the answers made the effort worthwhile.
What kind of puzzles do you solve every day? And who are your favorite constructors?
Apart from the daily crossword in Times of India, which I solve every morning when I commute to office in train, I barely find time to touch other puzzles. I wish to solve the NYT puzzle but it is not so easily available here in hard copy. Talking of constructors, I used to look forward to Alan Olschwang’s quote puzzles. Back in those days, in the Chicago Tribune era, it used to appear every Wednesday in Times of India. I also love to hate setters who make hard-to-crack puzzles – Barry Silk, Pancho Harrison, Jack McInturff, et al. These fellas puncture my literary ego with such innocence, it’s not funny.
Besides crossword, what are your other hobbies?
Well, I enjoy writing. I have had over 45 bylines (mainly op-editorials and feature articles) in leading Indian dailies including Times of India and The Economic Times. I usually write on spirituality/philosophy, business education and career. You could visit my website www.mangeshghogre.com for more. I also firmly believe in learning and sharing model. So, I spend weekends with my high-school students mentoring them on anything but studies. Of course, we discuss development of hobbies including crosswords. This program is in the 4th year now and I am excited to solve my debut crossword with them.
Mangesh, an Indian citizen, is an investment banker with a global bank based in Mumbai. Today he became the first India-based constructor to have a puzzle published by the LA Times, a remarkable achievement for a non-native English speaker.
Mangesh has been in contact with me since his first appearance in our blog and kept me updated with his construction effort. I am very impressed by his persistence and perseverance. He also amazes me with his writings on spirituality and his volunteer work.
What's the inspiration for this puzzle? And what are the other theme answers that failed to make the cut?
Well, I am a foodie. So, I thought why not have crosswords for breakfast as well? Fun apart, I recollect the trigger entry was BREAD AND BUTTER and wanted the theme to focus on latter half. Then I added CHALK AND CHEESE and COOKIES AND CREAM. The fourth entry is the one I took some time to find. When I got MIDDLE AGE SPREAD, Nancy suggested selecting more focused entries related to spread. That’s how the final set emerged. Talking of themes, I must confess that sometimes I struggle with “in-the-language test” because of my lack of familiarity with local language. I discovered that phrases/idioms popular in India, may not be in US. For eg, while working on this theme, I was surprised to learn that CHALK AND CHEESE is not in-the-language although it’s a valid English idiom.
What kind of difficulties did you go through to make the grid work?
Filling the theme and non-theme entries is fun though it could get taxing at times. But as a constructor, designing the grid is my Achilles’ heel. I am told designing a grid is an art. Even the software doesn’t help much. Like they say, you need an “eye” to make out if the grid will work.
What is it like to work with Rich Norris? What have you learned about his theme/fill preferences?
From the limited experience I have gained interacting with him, I think he is one of the most professional editors I have come across. He diligently responds to emails and provides feedback for improvement. Interacting with him makes you feel that your contribution is welcome and your effort is appreciated. Frankly, I am not yet ready to comment much about his theme/fill preferences.
Can you tell us a bit about your background? How did you develop an interest in crossword solving and then constructing?
I am an Indian citizen based in Mumbai. I have an under-graduate degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA with a major in finance. Currently, I am working in the Investment Banking division of one of the world’s largest banks. I stay with my wife and parents in Panvel – a small town on the outskirts of Mumbai.
Though all my education has been in English, it is not my first language. My mother-tongue is Marathi – one of the many languages spoken in India. I am also fluent in Hindi, the more popular language in India.
My friends tell me, and I agree, that I always had a hang for words. But my first encounter with crosswords goes back 13 years when I had just entered my engineering course and was staying in the college hostel. Every morning, when I and my hostel room-mates were busy having morning breakfast, we used to gaze at the “white-and-black painting” called crossword. Since many of us had an eye on cracking the GRE/GMAT, we looked at it as an activity to improve vocabulary. I remember 5 or 6 of us started with a lot of enthusiasm. But as you can imagine, the enthusiasm quickly faded. You won’t believe, but for the first 3 months we did not need a pen! We didn’t know a word – other than filling S for plural answers. Soon we found out the only way to improve is to painstakingly check answers for every clue next morning. Though my other friends gave up, I continued. I bought a small pocket-diary and started noting crosswordese, various rivers, flowers, animals, cities, Bible trivia, suffix, prefix, Greek gods and goddesses, etc. I couldn’t carry the diary everywhere, so I culled it in 2 pages. If it interests you, here is one of them. And before I knew it, I became obsessed with solving crosswords. I think it took me a year or so to fully solve a crossword – unassisted! Since then, I never looked back. I have been happily solving the daily crossword in Times of India (which syndicates the LAT puzzle) for the past 13 years now.
Constructing crossword is a very recent phenomenon for me. Sometime last March, I felt that it is the next step. Some sort of changing gears. And what motivated me more was that I didn’t know much of American trivia and local stuff. So, what better way than to construct a puzzle myself. I remember I promised to gift myself a crossword on my birthday in May. I downloaded the trial version of the CCW software. Took up a random puzzle which had got published that week. Made a theme that fit it. Banged my head all over to get the non-theme fill. And Eureka! I had my first crossword ready for the B-day. But, it was nowhere up to the mark. Maybe I was being maverick or plain foolish, I sent it to Rich. Kind that he is, he politely explained to me the reason for the rejection. But his response made me sniff success – I knew I was not that far. I then joined Cruciverb mailing list – the online mecca of cruciverbalists, I must say. That led me to enroll in what I call the “University of Nancy Salomon”. She is so helpful. I can’t thank her enough.
What's your experience solving American style puzzles? I often feel frustrated and handicapped by my background.
I echo your feelings. Add to it that I have not once visited US and am not a reading enthusiast either. I used to wonder – when will I ever visit Lake Erie? Who is Slammin Sammy? How is EGAD a euphemistic oath? When will I taste POI/TARO (Sorry, I told you am a foodie!)? And in late 90s there were not many blogs like yours that discussed puzzles threadbare. It took me years to realise why the clue for ASPEN is quaking tree. It was as if I was a “non-resident American” who knew scads of local lingo and trivia but hadn’t once used it in daily life. When I started, I used to be so frustrated that so many times I have tore the paper to pieces and muttered quite a few unmentionables. But, with due credit to all those constructors and editors, the tickle next morning while reading the answers made the effort worthwhile.
What kind of puzzles do you solve every day? And who are your favorite constructors?
Apart from the daily crossword in Times of India, which I solve every morning when I commute to office in train, I barely find time to touch other puzzles. I wish to solve the NYT puzzle but it is not so easily available here in hard copy. Talking of constructors, I used to look forward to Alan Olschwang’s quote puzzles. Back in those days, in the Chicago Tribune era, it used to appear every Wednesday in Times of India. I also love to hate setters who make hard-to-crack puzzles – Barry Silk, Pancho Harrison, Jack McInturff, et al. These fellas puncture my literary ego with such innocence, it’s not funny.
Besides crossword, what are your other hobbies?
Well, I enjoy writing. I have had over 45 bylines (mainly op-editorials and feature articles) in leading Indian dailies including Times of India and The Economic Times. I usually write on spirituality/philosophy, business education and career. You could visit my website www.mangeshghogre.com for more. I also firmly believe in learning and sharing model. So, I spend weekends with my high-school students mentoring them on anything but studies. Of course, we discuss development of hobbies including crosswords. This program is in the 4th year now and I am excited to solve my debut crossword with them.
