6 teams on stage... the buzzer had just gone off for the last round... the competition was at a nail-biting stage with multiple teams going neck to neck - that is what the audience, consisting of students, teachers, friends and parents, witnessed at the Anandabazar Online Shobdo Jobdo 2023 Grand Finale at Rabindra Sadan, Kolkata on 27 July 2023. While the other teams gave stiff competition, the defending champions of 2022, Lions Calcutta Greater Vidyamandir once again took the top prize.
In a first so far as word-game challenges in Bengali for schoolchildren go, Shobdo Jobdo started as a brainchild of Anandabazar Online in 2022. With a desire to uphold the Bengali language and preserve a linguistic tradition in school children, the team tied up with the creators of Shabdabaji.
The 6 teams in the finale were:
The interesting game is, in the first round, played out across various schools from the different districts of West Bengal. This year Anandabazar Online reached 153 schools in 42 cities across 10 districts of West Bengal. At this stage, children take a written test where they are given word games and challenges to solve. The 3 top scorers from each school are then selected to represent their school at the Grand Finale. Through successive rounds at the event, the top 6 teams are identified, who then played out in 6 suspenseful rounds on stage.
The event was graced by chief guest, Sri Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, celebrated bengali author. Prof. (Dr.) Rama Prosad Banerjee, Chairman and Director of EIILM, Prof. (Dr.) Minal Pareek, Digital Director, Techno India Group and Dean of School of Media Communication, Design, Art and Performing Art, Sister Nivedita University,Techno India Group, and Mr Dipanjan Dutta, CEO RICE Education.
The event was a major success thanks to the conductor and face of the event RJ Roy, as well as presenting sponsor EIILM Kolkata, powered by sponsors Sister Nivedita University and RICE Education, and Shabdabaji, Mio Amore, Protinex, and Boodles.