The inventor of Sudoku should be given a Nobel Prize. A wonderful pastime for elders who are retired and have nothing much to do, Sudoku is an interesting, engrossing exercise and time-consuming on days when it is hard.
I am now 80 and have seen Sudoku in The Hindu for so many years, but this puzzle did not attract me in the past. At the same time, I was left wondering how many people were busy solving it.
Not so easy
Then, all on a sudden, one day five years ago I thought why I shouldn't try my hand at it. At first, I thought it was a very easy job. It was not. I had to use the pencil and the eraser, the latter more often.
I struggled for a week, and invariably I was wrong. I almost gave up. Then I found out that my son-in-law's father, 86, is an avid Sudoku practitioner and adept at that. I sought his help. For two days, I took lessons from my guru.
Slowly, I started gaining the upper hand and nowadays, I don't attempt solving the easy ones, up to three stars. Aren't they for beginners?
After solving a tough Sudoku, you get the feeling that you have achieved something great and you go about telling people your exploits. But my son-in-law would ask me whether I solved it through the theory of probability or by logic. He is of the firm opinion that the logical method is the best route and not the other way round, using the eraser more often. He calls it a “method cheating.”
Now comes my wife, who is an ardent fan of crossword puzzles and who does not relish my spending too much time on Sudoku. But then, she feels happy after I tackle a difficult one successfully.
My daughter and granddaughter are also Sudoku solvers and there is a healthy competition among us about who finishes first.
I don't know if it is true but I have heard people say Sudoku helps to postpone Alzheimer's. It is an interesting way of spending time leisure all the same.
(The writer's email id is kalsavi@gmail.com)
