Guwahati, Jan. 31: Buoyed by his successful stints in national and world Rubik's cube championships, 17-year-old Kabyanil Talukdar, who bagged a gold medal in a world meet in 2015, is playing mentor to students across Assam in a bid to promote the mind game at the grassroots.

A higher secondary first year arts student of Cotton College, Talukdar, now ranked fifth in the world and second in Asia in the 3x3x3 blindfolded category, has conducted a number of workshops across schools and institutions to popularise the game and, more importantly, help children improve their problem-solving skills.

"Solving the Rubik's cube can do wonders to children. It can, among others, enhance logical thinking, curiosity, decision-making, memory and concentration. More importantly, it keeps students off activities such as playing video games or watching TV that invariably affects their studies. The game is not as popular as other mind games like chess. So, I thought I had to do something on my own," Talukdar told The Telegraph today.

At the Brazil meet in 2015, Talukdar broke his own record, which he had made at the Tokyo championships (in 2014), with 24.86 seconds by solving the cube blindfolded.

"I had covered over 12 schools last year and the response from students had been great, a mixture of curiosity and eagerness to learn. Also, it's a welcome break from routine," he said.

Assam now has over 100 registered Rubik's cube players in the records of World Cube Association.

Assam Jatiya Bidyalay, which is Talukdar's alma mater, along with organisations such as the Mind Sports Foundation, has been supporting the boy in the campaign.

A resident of Luit Nagar in Noonmati, Talukdar has also penned a book, Solving Rubik's Cube, last year.

"After my Brazil feat, I had several queries from guardians whose wards wanted to know more about the cube. Besides, I also observed that kids were interested in the game but did not know the basics. That's what led me into writing the book," he said.

"I have also conducted two open tournaments in Guwahati supported by organisations, including India Club. At the Northeast book fair last year, I designed a Rubik's Cube mosaic of Bhupen Hazarika and Jawaharlal Nehru, a first in the Northeast," he said.

Talukdar also has a world championship in Paris in July to prepare for. "That's something I am looking forward to," he says.

In the long run, the boy intends to take the campaign beyond Assam. "Later this year, I would love to cover other states in the region. I will need support from the government," he said.