Where It All Began

There are some dreams that begin with an idea, a thought that keeps you awake at night and stays with you through the day. Others begin with an experience that quietly changes the way you look at the world.

For me, that experience came years ago, long before Cryptics was even imagined and I have carried this with me throughout my life.

As a young professional, I had the opportunity to travel through some of the most remote villages of North-East India. Reaching many of these places meant navigating forests, rivers and rugged terrain - sometimes even on the back of an elephant.

Our mission? To set up digital content libraries using standalone computers, creating access to educational resources for children in places where such opportunities were almost unheard of.

What has stayed with me all these years, however, has very little to do with the technology itself. It is the time I spent with the children as they explored this entirely new world of learning. Watching their eyes light up as they discovered knowledge beyond the four walls of their classroom is something I can’t really put into words. Their excitement wasn't about the computers. It was about possibility. It was about what could be. Every click led to another question. Every answer sparked another discovery.

When Technology Meant Wonder

Technology, by itself, changes very little. It is what people do with it that changes everything.

When you place technology in the hands of a curious child, you are not just giving them access to information, you are giving them the tools and the confidence to dream bigger.

I have also often found myself reflecting on my own childhood. I still clearly remember the excitement that filled our home, when we got our first television. I would spend hours watching it, and even more time wondering how it could do what it did - to me, it was like a window into a much larger world. Back then, none of us could have even imagined that we would very soon witness machines assisting doctors in performing complex surgeries, students building games from scratch, and Artificial Intelligence becoming a part of our everyday lives.

The pace at which the world is transforming is nothing short of extraordinary. Education, too, must evolve just as boldly. To prepare children for a constantly changing world, we have to go beyond textbooks and the four walls of a classroom. Children cannot be prepared for tomorrow using only the tools of yesterday. They must be given the right opportunities to explore technology, embrace the change it can bring, and then, one day, use it to solve problems we cannot yet imagine.

It was this belief that stayed with me. Years later, when I had the privilege of shaping the vision of Vydehi School of Excellence, I found myself returning to those memories.

Why Cryptics Was Born

It was that conviction that gave birth to Cryptics, not just another school competition, but as a platform that celebrates curiosity - a platform where children could challenge themselves, question technology, engage with emerging innovations, learn from one another and discover that technology is now a language that is shaping the world we live in.

When we launched the first edition of Cryptics in 2018, the world looked very different. Today, almost a decade later, we are living through one of the most remarkable technological transformations, the world has ever witnessed - a world where Artificial Intelligence has moved from concepts in a research labs straight into our homes, classrooms, workplaces and our everyday lives.

The pace of change is extraordinary, and the children who sit in our classrooms today will inherit a world that will evolve even faster than the one we know. And this is precisely why I hold initiatives like Cryptics so close to my heart.

9 Years Later

As we proudly step into the 9th edition of Cryptics, it is incredibly humbling, to reflect on how far this journey has come. It feels like just yesterday when I sat across my team and told them about my vision for this competition. What started as a simple thought has today grown into one of the country's most respected, and most awaited school technology quiz championships.

Every number tells a story. A story of young children choosing curiosity. Of students discovering new passions. Of schools embracing innovation. Of teachers encouraging children to think outside the box.

But if you ask me what makes me the most proud, I would say it is not the scale, but those small victories - of knowing that somewhere, because of Cryptics, a child discovered her love for technology. Someone decided to explore Artificial Intelligence a little more. Someone explored cyber security for the very first time in his life. Someone decided to innovate and create something new.

The Future Belongs to the Curious

I want every child who participates in Cryptics to believe that learning is a never-ending journey, that to dream big is the way forward, to ask bigger questions than the ones they arrived with, and to realise that technology is something they can shape, improve and harness to make the world better.

The future does not belong to those who know all the answers. It belongs to those who never stop questioning and exploring.

As educators in the world we live in, we have the privilege and of course the responsibility of nurturing that mindset. Cryptics has always been my way of contributing to that mission.

As we welcome participants to the ninth edition, I feel the same excitement I felt when the very first edition began. Yes, the faces have changed, the questions are different. The technology has evolved beyond anything we could have imagined. But one thing remains exactly the same - the sparkle in the eyes of a child who discovers something new.

That spark is what inspired me to create Cryptics and it continues to inspire me today. And I hope it will continue to inspire generations of young innovators, thinkers and change-makers for many years to come.