Problematics | When nobody gets to work from home

Can’t wait for your next article in Problematics, Sunaina Shivrain tells me from Faridabad. Mondays will be less mundane, writes Nupur Joshi from Faridabad. Thank you for your response, and let’s keep this going. This week’s puzzles coming up:

#PUZZLE 2.1

ABCD of transfer postings

In the lobby of an airport, I overheard three men and a woman discussing their new transfers.

“Four vacancies in our home states, and yet none of us gets posted at home,” grumbled Ashima, the Assamese.

"I am being posted in the hometown of the person who is being posted in my hometown."' said Bankim, the Bengali.

Chand, from Chandigarh saw me taking notes. “Hah,” he said, "a puzzle solver!"

"Nah." I corrected him, "a puzzle setter. But I need more information."

"Ask and it shall be given you, said Dilbar the mathematician from Delhi.

"Let us assume," I said, "that the airports in Chandigarh, Delhi, West Bengal and Assam are on a single route, in that order. How many airports do you cross flying from your workplace to your hometown?"

"I cross one airport," said the Assamese.

"So do I." said the Bengali.

"And I." said Chand.

"Indeed, each of us crosses one airport between their workplace and hometown." the mathematician concluded.

Who is being posted where?

Puzzle 2.2

MAILBOX: LAST WEEK'S SOLVERS

Solved both puzzles: Natrajan from Bangalore, Col Bharath Jhingon (retired) from Pune, and Avidha Sharma from Jalandhar have solved both puzzles in their entirety. Phani Bhushan Tholeti from Hyderabad has solved #Puzzle 1.1 and 7 of the 10 anagrams in #Puzzle 2.2; Charu Sharma has done #Puzzle 1.1 and 5 anagrams.

Puzzle 1.1 

Solved #Puzzle 1.1: Gopal Menon (Mumbai), Akshit Goel (Delhi), Ekansh Singh (Bhiwadi), Dr Nakul Makkar (Noida), Denis D (Navi Mumbai), Riya Goyal and Tarun Adhana (Hathin, Palwal), Richa Agarwal (Delhi), Tanya Jain (Nagpur), Nupur Joshi (Delhi), Rajat Gupta (Gurgaon), Devdas Thakuria (Gurgaon).

Puzzle 1.2 

Solved #Puzzle 1.2: Caroline D'Cruz (Mumbai), Sunaina Shivrain (Faridabad), Jaya Rai (Delhi), Meenakshi Prabhakar (Delhi) and Sangeeta Chawla (Delhi) have solved all 10 anagrams. Vikrant Bhat from Delhi has solved 8; Arpita Mary Abraham from Faridabad has solved 6; Ishika Taneja from Delhi University has done 5.

Problematics will be back next week. Please send in your replies to: problematics@hindustantimes.com