New Delhi: Navigating through everyday life is like solving a crossword puzzle, Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malik said on Tuesday as he exhorted students to develop critical thinking.

He was addressing a gathering at an auditorium of a Kendriya Vidyalaya in Delhi Cantonment after inaugurating a national interschool crossword contest.

The Delhi-National Capital Region rounds were also held on Tuesday in which Mother's International School (Delhi); Amity International School (Ghaziabad); Kendriya Vidyalaya Sector 24 (Noida); and DAV Public School Sector 14 (Gurgaon), became the first four schools to qualify for the grand finale of the sixth edition of CCCC Cryptic Crossword Contest, the organisers said.

The Bihar governor, in his speech, used the crossword puzzle as a metaphor for life.

"Everyday life is like solving a crossword puzzle," he said.

He also cited the example of chess, saying India has had a tradition of inventing mind games, as he exhorted the students to develop critical thinking.

Minister of state for power (independent charge) R.K. Singh, who was the chief guest on the occasion, also urged the students to develop critical thinking, saying those who have the ability to think, succeed in life. "You can train your minds and develop an ability to think critically by solving crossword puzzles regularly," he said.

Senior IAS officer and chief mentor of the contest, Vivek Kumar Singh, traced the journey of the competition, whose first edition was held in 2013.