The office recreational rooms offered a wide range of activities. This variety made it inevitable that one would become hooked on visiting them in the afternoon after lunch. Many newspapers were available for potential knowledge seekers. They devour these papers, providing their daily dose of curiosity-inducing dopamine. Besides playing TT, chess, and snooker, there were newspapers available. Knowledge seekers devour them for their daily dose of curiosity-inducing dopamine. Above all, there were Sudokus in the newspapers!
Sudoku, as a leisure activity, has attracted many people worldwide. This type of puzzle helps prepare the brain for complex coding or algorithmic tasks.
I was one of those nerdy people. I loved to do Sudoku in the recreational office room. I was not the only one! After lunch, I used to solve Sudoku puzzles from The Hindu and The Times of India (TOI). The Hindu Sudoku was more challenging than the TOI ones.
Then, a pattern emerged! Suppose I solved all the Sudokus one day. The next day, I would find the Sudokus solved when I arrived at my table. I noticed a guy watching me. He observed my reaction when I saw the solved Sudoku on a different table in the same room. I understood!
Then, I cut my lunchtime short so I could solve the Sudoku first. It became a race. After solving the Sudoku, I would sign my name underneath it to let the other person know! Sometimes, I found his signature, too, in the newspapers after arriving a little bit late.
After this peek-a-boo game had been going on for quite some time, I noticed signs like “1-0” in the newspapers. I also saw “3-1” alongside the signatures under the Sudoku. I replied by playing the game and counting the score.
After a month, the score was tied at 15-15. After a quick lunch, I entered the recreational room. I saw my Sudoku competitor coming from the other direction to the gate. After seeing me, he rushed back inside to get the newspapers, and so did I! It was a race! A nerdy race to the last Sudoku!
We both arrived at the same time. We saw the Sudokus solved by a third person. Underneath, the words “losers, bitch please!” were written. We didn’t know the mystery third person. But we laughed out loud, and that ended our Sudoku rivalry. That was a fantastic experience for me.
The Witty Stride 