Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi on Sunday unveiled the IXL trophy at Sisir Mancha at the global launch of the Indian Crossword League 2015 by Extra-C, a non-profit organisation based in Patna, in association with Young Metro. 'It's a moment of happiness to launch such a unique event as the IXL. It has successfully changed an ideal pastime into a competition that helps in learning and improves self-confidence,' Tripathi said. Vivek Kumar Singh (holding the trophy with the governor), principal secretary, environment and forest, Bihar, and the chief mentor of Extra-C said: 'Crossword isn't as popular as quizzing and debating... but solving the puzzles helps one think laterally, improves vocabulary and challenges one every day. Keeping these in mind, we launched the first edition of IXL in 2013, the centenary year of the crossword puzzle that was first published in the New York World on December 21, 1913, by the inventor of the word game, Arthur Wynne. We hope to see the game gain popularity all over the country.' Author Amit Chaudhuri said: 'The IXL is creating a national awareness of a private obsession.... Crosswords are also a means to delight.' Monidipa Mitra, the winner of the first Calcutta Open Cryptic Crossword Challenge and a retired professor of chemistry (taking her award from the governor) said: 'Crosswords are a good way of using the brain. Now that I have the time to sit and read, I also solve puzzles in the newspapers daily and I believe youngsters, too, should engage themselves in this word game.' The league will be held every Sunday at 11am. After 10 online rounds, the top 20 from across the globe will meet for the grand finale in Bangalore. Pictures by Arnab Mondal