CHENNAI: With his eyes blindfolded, I Dheepak Arjun’s fingers deftly flick the rows of the Rubik’s cube back and forth. At one point, he rubs the individual squares, taps the cube while holding it up to his ear, and sniffs the object. In about 30 seconds, the completed cube lays in the 15-year-old’s palm.
Dheepak has set a record for solving 555 Rubik cubes while being blindfolded with the Real World Record. “There are three other senses — smell, touch and sound — that help me solve the cube even though my eyes are shut,” he shares.
Dheepak’s mother, Rajeshwari, holds a regular class called ‘Brain Training’ for children between the ages of eight to 14 to help them activate their midbrain. “I trained on amplifying my senses and opening my mind with my mother’s help, and the 'Brain Training' classes helped me open up my midbrain,” says the class 10 student from Chennai Public School, Anna Nagar whose journey in solving the Rubik's cube began when he was 13. The puzzle was popular among his friends at school.
Midbrain activation is a pseudoscience that focuses on the development of blind vision, concentration, and memory. Interestingly, it is taught in many schools in south India. English author Roald Dahl has referred to this technique in his short story, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, which is the story of an English man who learns to count cards blindfolded.
“The minds can be opened and activated at a very young age. As you grow older, this ability is difficult to develop. I hold classes every weekend, where the children learn how to read and write with their eyes closed,” says Rajeshwari, who holds a Masters in Yoga from Madras College of Arts. Though Rajeshwari says learning this method takes around three months, she also claims her son mastered this technique in 14 days. She uses forms like dance and music to bring the children's minds to a relaxed state, which helps improve concentration.
Dheepak uses a particular formula in addition to relying on his other senses, particularly the First Two Layers (F2L) method. The method involves solving each layer, or row consisting of three coloured cubes, before moving on the next layer. He was able to solve a Rubik's cube blindfolded after three months of practising.
Dheepak can not only solve a Rubik's cube blindfolded but also ride a bicycle blindfolded. But, he hasn't tried it due to safety reasons. “Practise makes a man perfect. More than taking part in competitions, I want to achieve a level of perfection in all that I do. When you do something perfectly, you feel happy and accomplished, and that perfection can be carried out into all other aspects of life,” says Dheepak, who also holds a black belt in karate.
Dheepak trains his mind daily by jogging in the morning. He tells us that the cool weather, chirping of birds and exercise keeps his mind fresh and clear. He aspires to be an IAS officer and a doctor if he can pursue both simultaneously.
“More than thanks, I should praise my parents and sister for all their support. They are the ones who constantly motivated me and guided me all these years,” he says.