My father introduced me to this game when I was like 6 or 7. We were going to this thing in his office, and I, the pesky brat that I was, was starting to get restless. It was this road in India with surprisingly few vehicles, which obviously, had number plates.
In India, every vehicle needs a number plate of this format:
And the game my father introduced to me was what I know as 'The Special Number Game'. It's rules were simple. I just had to find out a number on the plate of any car that passed by, to which I could associate any aspect of my daily life. For example, if the third part of the license plate read 2017, that would be a special number because the present year is 2017.
Simple, ain't it? But my luck was so bad that I didn't find any such license plate which could help me win this game. So, like any child stubborn for victory, I made up numbers for cars that didn't even pass by.
And since that day, I've been playing this game every time I go out in a car. I may have plugged in my earphones, but my mind is 60% of the time focussed on discovering more special numbers. Over the past 10 years, I have observed a large number of these Special Numbers.
So these details might seem as if I'm trying to relive my childhood. But the truth is, I don't even know why I chose to put this up on my blog. Something just struck me last night, at around 11. When I was way too bored to think of anything else. I was in the car, in case you've not yet figured that out yet.😝
This uncanny resemblance stayed in every single number I saw. And it actually made me laugh. For years I've been trying to identify Special Numbers; for months I've been realising that all numbers are special. And only last night my mind actually registered that fact.
In India, every vehicle needs a number plate of this format:
- The first two letters indicate the state or Union Territory to which the vehicle is registered.
- The next two digit numbers are the sequential number of a district. Due to heavy volume of vehicle registration, the numbers were given to the RTO offices of registration as well.
- The third part is a 4 digit number unique to each plate. A letter is prefixed when the 4 digit number runs out and then two letters and so on.
- The fourth part is an international oval "IND" and the above it a hologram having a Chakra.
And the game my father introduced to me was what I know as 'The Special Number Game'. It's rules were simple. I just had to find out a number on the plate of any car that passed by, to which I could associate any aspect of my daily life. For example, if the third part of the license plate read 2017, that would be a special number because the present year is 2017.Simple, ain't it? But my luck was so bad that I didn't find any such license plate which could help me win this game. So, like any child stubborn for victory, I made up numbers for cars that didn't even pass by.
And since that day, I've been playing this game every time I go out in a car. I may have plugged in my earphones, but my mind is 60% of the time focussed on discovering more special numbers. Over the past 10 years, I have observed a large number of these Special Numbers.
So these details might seem as if I'm trying to relive my childhood. But the truth is, I don't even know why I chose to put this up on my blog. Something just struck me last night, at around 11. When I was way too bored to think of anything else. I was in the car, in case you've not yet figured that out yet.😝
Coming back, I was sitting in the front seat of the car and observing every single vehicle that passed by. Tried associating every single number with something, even if that something were nonsense. For instance, 5514 would be, "5 and 5 can be made with just 1 4".
Yes, I was that bored.
This uncanny resemblance stayed in every single number I saw. And it actually made me laugh. For years I've been trying to identify Special Numbers; for months I've been realising that all numbers are special. And only last night my mind actually registered that fact.
That's probably how bored one person can get.
So, I'm gonna say what I want to in one short sentence. When any random number can be special, why can't any random person?
Try this game my dad taught me. You'll see for yourself.
That's all I wanted to say.
