THE JOY OF SUDOKUING…..

         There is a uniqueness for each and every numeral right from 0 to 9; 0 is the epitome of co – operation and teamwork (musters nothing individually), 1 for standing out from the lot (neither prime nor composite), 2 for doing things different rather than working towards different things (it’s the only even prime number), 7 for the number of notes in music. And for 9, it’s the SuDoKu.

         Focussing my interest in Mathematics and number crunching was nothing but a myth for me until I came across this Game of Grids. My affair with SuDoKu just began as a pastime due to my bro’s interest but now, it’s a part of my day – to – day life. A day neither begins nor ends without this 9*9 miniature model of the Microsoft Excel flirting with me.

         Starting in my 9^th grade, I didn’t know at that time that some variants of the game existed as I was well into the CLASSIC puzzles. Just when I started to imagine, “Arey whaahh… You’re a legend in this game”, college festivals started mocking by showing the exit door to me. I was nothing short of dejected to know that there existed other different types of Sudoku, which were alien to me – Hex, Diagonal, Odd and Even, Chaotic, Diabolical, etc.

         “Okay kid… you’re still a toddler. Maybe, it’s better to step out of this world of numeral checkers”, said I to myself. But, that wasn’t to be. I was oblivious to the prick of a fate that one bus travel would move me back to this number game. An old man, sitting next to me, was reading one of Sundara Ramaswamy’s short stories, Vikaasam. Thoughts meandered, covering several mean free paths between them, and a light dawned upon me. I took out my Sony Xperia C and solved a HARD level puzzle with my personal best timing. But what was that that could change my mind so easily by noticing the title of a short story?

         Vikaasam is not just a story merely. It just shows how the true love and care of human beings towards one another cannot be replaced by a machine, however programmed it may be. There’s an old man called Rowther, an illiterate villager who is unaware of the nuances of Abacus, but calculates at such speeds that he becomes an inseparable part of the large textile shop, maintained by another man. There comes few misunderstandings and Rowther is dethroned from his job and enter the calculator – the costly, mind – boggling machine – that replaces him at the cash counter. The story proceeds through a chain of events post Rowther’s exit that reveals that the old man is but more than a solving machine. He remains a friend, caretaker, well – wisher, and also a calculator for his master and his family. The trick of using calculator as an analogy to stress that Rowther doesn’t only solve numbers, but also the number of problems of his master, forms the crux of this story.

         All these thoughts of the story that had been a part of my English non – detail (translated version) in my 9^th grade whizzed from one side of my brain to another just like the Auro 3D sound system. And, that was the reason I solved my immediate attempt with relatively better concentration and determination. Now, I have bagged four prizes (trust me, the cash awards are a way to avoid imploring and whining for pocket money) and the list is about to continue.

         But, what matters here am not me but the game itself. It teaches the way of leading a life. Each rule is philosophical in its own way, enlightening me towards a moulded state.

1)   Only one number can fit in one cell

This seconds the saying, Jack of All but Master of None. There’ll be something which I would be worthy of doing. Focus towards only one aspect of life and we’re sure to be rewarded. This made me contemplate on my area of expertise, and though I may be a boring writer producing junk in my blog, I have managed to keep up the enthusiasm of continuously staying on the line. Writing is my key to the unexplored doors of the world.

2)   Focus on rows, columns and grids, all at the same time.

This made me realize that though there are our own, ‘within the circle’ commitments, we ought to maximize our horizon beyond this closed circle called the safe zone. Grid symbolizes our closed circle, while rows and columns are the exposures to lead us to glory.

3)   There may be two logical solutions for a puzzle.

Never be a stereotype is what this one taught me. There may be alternative aspects which, when done, would make us feel pessimistic and outdone. But then, that second solution may prove to be the pathway of true success.

         There are many other psychological and visible effects after Sudoku embraced me, or rather, I became part of this logical sport. Such is the intensity of the game that I am forced to type this piece of junk in the gap between two rounds of the Times of India SuDoKu contest. Life is full of problems like SuDoKu, but once we start solving them, we fall for them even without our knowledge and long for more and more of them to come.