Kerala

‘Edakoodam’ to celebrate ‘8’

Felt anything tricky about 8? It is just another number, right?

But not for magicians like Pradeep Hudino. “It’s a number that doesn’t have a beginning or an end when we write it,” Mr. Hudino says.

He feels something intriguingly magical about 8. That is why Magic World, a magic theme park led by Mr. Hudino in Kozhikode, decided to celebrate the number on Friday, the date being 08-08-08. Magic World is celebrating the day as puzzle day. A puzzles fest, titled ‘Edakoodam,’ will start there then. The fest will last 17 days, the sum of which is 8 again, the magician says. A puzzle is a problem or enigma that challenges the ingenuity of a person. It can be in the form of a question or a visual object such as a Rubik’s Cube or puzzle cubes or a crossword puzzle. To solve them, logic, concentration and perseverance, are required, Mr. Hudino says.

Solving puzzles can trigger alternative thinking and spot-finishing capability among children, he adds. The fest has been planned in eight segments, keeping the number in mind: Puzzle Expo, Trial Puzzles, High-tech Puzzles, Eco Puzzles, Magic Puzzles, Puzzle Shop and another two. An exhibition of books on puzzles includes the eight-item package of the fest. Magic World is planning to float a puzzles club as part of the fest. The members will be trained in cracking puzzles and will be exposed to hundreds of varieties of puzzles during weekly sessions. “We are planning to form the club from among those who attend the puzzles fest,” Mr. Hudino says.

“We had planned to kick-start the fest at 8 o’clock on Friday night, but had to reschedule it to 5.30 p.m., the total of the figures, of course, is 8 again though,” he says.

Jabir Mushthari

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