The Japs Have Arrived

It is not unusual to see the Japanese in Dalal Street these days. And it is a refreshing change. The traditional bowing ceremony,exchange of visiting cards and conversation in slow,halting and measured tone. "Ohayo godaimaaz","konnichi wa" and "domo domo" are japanese words which our gujju brokers have picked up fast. They even move their face to the right and left to signify a 'yes' and up and down vertically to indicate a 'no'. Exactly the opposite of what we do. They are the contrarians. They have come with 'yen 'and 'zen' and are pushing the sensex and nifty higher and higher every passing day.

The story is not over. They are also pushing your minds. It is dekho,dekho,sudoku! .The puzzle game which is sweeping Mumbai. In Japanese it means digit or single number. The puzzle grid is made up of a 9*9 matrix. That is,nine rows and nine columns. Every three rows and three columns constitute three boxes of nine cells each. Some numbers are already there in the puzzle. You have to fill in the blank cells so that every row and every column has the digits 1-9 in it. No number can be repeated in a particular cell,row or column. Every puzzle has only one correct solution. And according to the experts,you can keep on playing with a new number combination infinitely almost. Do you need to be an expert in maths or number theory to master the game. No,not at all. What you need is clear logical thinking and sharp eyes.

Like the compulsive net surfer,you have today the compulsive sudoku player. Till they have solved the day's puzzle they just won't do anything else. Invented by a New Zealander called Wayne Gould,it has spread like forestfire. Sudoku is being recommended to keep the brain active and ward off Alzheimer's. Build up what is called a 'cognitive reserve'. Maintain your brain and make sure that when you are 80,your brain is still there with you.

Solving time varies from 10 minutes to 30 minutes,depending upon the proficiency you have acquired. And many say that the adrenaline rush is what they enjoy and feel at the end as if they have conquered the world.

Just type sudoku in google and get going(www.sudoku.com). You may soon start getting this puzzle every morning on your cellphone too. Suffer its agony and discover its ecstacy. Go solve it.