These are the worst times in many parents? lives ? admission in a chosen school. I confess that I belong to that group of hapless parents whose child is yet to get an admission.

While the demand for a ?better? education is uppermost in everyone?s mind, there are other reasons, mostly economic though well-camouflaged, for using a career cover behind the choice of a particular institution or board.

We wanted our child to change boards for a more modern mathematics and physics syllabus, and not what is best suited for an IIT entrance examination. That idea seemed to be too alien for the hoi polloi. If you are not interested in doing engineering or medicine then why study science? Any reaction on the issue? Please rush your response to me at debkumarm@kqscore.com.

PUZZLE 1: Hidden in each of the sentences below is the name of an animal that can be found in a barnyard. Can you find them all? (Hint: The letters of the name may be separated by spaces.)

Doggedly determined to succeed, Tom grit his teeth and tried again./Peter called Davy a coward because he wouldn?t fight./?The boys win every time we play!? groaned Lisa./To start the road race, all the contestants were told to go at the green light./?You know I abhor secrets!? exclaimed John?s mother when she caught the two boys whispering./Jim lunged for the ball, catching it just in time to make the final out./The Arab bit his lip when he got angry./I walked up the neat pathway and knocked on the door./?Look at this bedlam, boy! See what you caused?? cried the outraged shop owner./?Elmo used up all the paint!? complained his little brother.

Note: Numbers 5 and 7 both have TWO animals hidden in them.

Solutions on May 9

CORRECT ENTRIES

April 11

Abhigyan Mundhra, Apeejay School; Sankha Subhra Banerjee, Kolghat Engg. College; S.N. Jha, Kharagpur; Abhinandan Khan, Cal-30; A. K. Majumdar, Cal ?106; Debjani Sinha, Cal-63; Arnab Dey,College of Engg. and Mgmt, Kolaghat;Sandeep Jain, Dimapur Engg. College; J. C. Nair, IISWBM; Indranil Saha, Santoshpur; Debasis Ganguly,Alumnus Software Ltd; Rajarshi Sarkar,Cal- 108; Rajat Tibrewal, Calcutta Boy?s School; Jayanat Dutta; Sudeepta Das,BITS Pilani; Prakash Ghosh, TCS-Cal; Radhika Nangia, Cal-20; Swagata Sur,Cal-152; Sugata Sadhukhan,Cal - 59; Gaurav Kabra,Central Model School; Ajay Sinha,Dhanbad;Debasis Ganguly,Alumnus Software; Rajdeep Laha, St Xaviers College; Avishek Somani, Cal-64; S. Krishnaiyer, Cal-8; Sudip Mishra, Cal- 107; Aniruddha Sharma

CORRECT ENTRIES

April 4

Kaustav Das, Cal-89; Subhash Chandra Majumder, Jamshedpur; Anuradha Sharma, Giridih; S.K. Singha Roy, Cal-26

PUZZLE CRACKED

Solution for puzzles on April 11: Al Harper, downhill skis, dishware, #4. Ed Campbell, tools, golf clubs, #3.

Harry Bates, dishware, television set, #1.

Roger Weiseman, televison set, downhill skis, #2. Tom Smith, golf clubs, tools, #5.

Hints: It is given that Tom is in #5 and Ed in # 3. Roger did not live in an end apartment. Therefore, Roger was either in #2 or #4 (we already know that Ed is in #3. The bachelor in #1 ordered what Al received. So, he is neither Tom, nor Ed , nor Roger, nor Al. Therefore, he must be Harry. Weiseman lived one aptartment from Harry. Therefore, his apartment must be #2. Again, Weiseman was two apartments away from the man who ordered skis. Therefore, the man in #4 ordered skis. But then Roger had ordered a TV. So, he can?t be the occupant of #4. Therefore, Roger lived in #2.