Meet Shresht Prabhu, A 10 year old master of the Rubik’s Mosaic

With the super-hit kannada movie Kantara gaining appreciation from fans across India, 10-year old Shresht Prabhu, a Grade 4 student from Ekya Schools took inspiration as well. He made a Rubik’s Mosaic art dedicated to his love for the movie. His love was not only appreciated by friends and loved ones, but it also got noticed and retweeted by superstar Rishabh Shetty, the writer, director and main lead of Kantara.

Shresht has mastered the art of Rubik’s Mosaic by making portraits of other famous personalities like Narendra Modi, Virat Kohli, Ratan Tata and Dr. Rajkumar among others. You must be wondering what is a Rubik’s Mosaic? Rubik's Mosaic is a Cube Art where you design, arrange and strategically place hundreds of Rubik Cubes to create impressive pieces of art.

Shresht plans to make live portraits of celebrities using Rubik’s cubes. He is also a pro at solving the Rubik’s Cube and plans to one day represent India in the Speedcubing competitions and events. His passion for the Rubik’s Cube started at the age of 6 years and the pandemic-induced lockdowns helped Shresht master his skills so he could solve the puzzle over time.

While he can resolve a 3x3 cube in 17 seconds, Shresht also regularly plays and solves 2x2, 4x4, megamix and Pyramid shaped cubes. He took an active interest in Rubik’s Mosaic to take his passion to the next level. A Rubik’s Mosaic is formed by placing hundreds of cubes together in a precise manner to form a portrait. Each portrait takes about 400 Rubik’s cubes and 3-4 days of dedicated effort.

The Telegraph Online Edugraph recently had a chat with Shresht Prabhu to know more about his interests and his future career plans, “I started cubing at the age of 6, but I started doing mosaic art when I was 9 years old. (almost a year back). From childhood I liked solving puzzles, especially completing a jigsaw puzzle. It made me excited to do a Rubik’s mosaic, as it’s a big puzzle, and I would be excited to complete and see the big image getting completed.”

A common misconception is that you can spark creativity amongst children by taking a step back and allowing them to be creative as per their choices. In today’s modern world, kids are naturally all the more curious to know and do things. However, facilitating a child's development is always an act of mutual interest. Knowing and understanding exactly when to intervene and when to hold back is critical for both parents and teachers.

Shresht and his future plans

Creative activities permit children to experiment with thought processes, materials and actions. Thereafter providing good opportunities for negotiation, problem-solving and other collaboration skills. “It was a great feeling when Dad informed me that Rishabh Shetty retweeted my Kantara mosaic art. I have been doing this art for a long time.” added Shresht.

Mathematics is considered to be a fundamental part of human thought processes and logic. Apart from the integral concept, the subject also serves as an important discipline to understand the world and everything about ourselves. Mathematics is also an effective way to build mental discipline, and promote logical thinking in the long run. While most children of Shresht’s age are afraid of the subject, here’s what Shresht has to say about the subject “I want to improve my timing to under 15 sec in 3X3 and improve solving cubes blindfolded. Maths is my favourite subject. I want to become an astronaut or scientist in the near future. Also, Feliks Zemdegs is my favourite person. I want to become like him as he is the best in speed cubing”.

All children must be exposed to creativity while being given the freedom to put their heart, soul and efforts into making every activity their own. Creative activities are a strong process of self-expression that not only help children manage their emotions but also helps them achieve new heights of success, just like our star, Shresht Prabhu.