Udupi: It was in the year 1974, that Rubik’s Cube, a 3-D combination puzzle game was invented by Erno Rubik, the Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture. It went viral as a puzzle the world over, and became a fad even in India. The puzzle has fascinated the world since then and there are several quests to find the fastest fingers first! The record as of now is a mind boggling 5.5 seconds.
In Prithvish Bhat, son of Shyamprasad Bhat and Prasanna Prasad, the city has found its own champion. At a state level competition held in the city recently, he was able to align the colors on all six sides of the cube (which is the essence of the puzzle) in under a minute, in fact, in 38 seconds flat, which is no mean feat. He says of his achievement, “I want to develop even more expertise and aim to try doing it blind folded”.
Prithvish is a 5th semester engineering student in Dharmasthala Engineering College, Ujre, but his engineering education has nothing to do with his puzzle solving abilities. Practice is what it takes, he says. He learnt to solve the puzzle eight months ago and has practiced the art (or the science as his book on the subject reveals) repeatedly over the last eight months, each time bettering his own time.
He says,” the Rubik cube is not just puzzle but it’s a miracle invention. It’s a simple 3D cube, which hastens and sharpens the brain, and hand and eye coordination. It helps to improvise concentration level and even the memory power. It can be called as ‘mind game””, and he never fails to attract the curious viewers wherever he plays this mind game, despite the fact that mind games such as these are not popular in India. Most Indians are into video games on their smart phones.
Naturally, the Rubik’s puzzle is not a favorite, especially now that the fad has faded. Pritivish says “I especially want to introduce the magic of puzzle to the rural children and help them to develop brisk intellectual activity”, adding that there is no age limitation for solving Rubik Puzzles and it can even keep elderly people mentally agile.
He has already conducted workshops on the puzzle at Sringeri, Mangaluru, Ujre, Cherkadi and has authored a book on the puzzle titled ‘Rubik’s Cube’ which reveals a simpler way to solve the puzzle.
The final frontier for him? “Breaking the world record is my dream”, he says.
