Nischal Narayanam

Cubes, long divisions and complex equations may create a scare for most 11-year-olds. But not Nischal Narayanam, who rattles off answers in seconds to ‘mind mathematics’ problems that others would spend painstaking minutes over. Feted by the Guinness Book of World Records as a record-holder in the ‘Most Random Objects Memorised’ category with 225 objects memorised, Narayanam released the DVD of a learning system aimed at tackling the all-too common phobia of mathematics.
The Class VI student of Gitanjali School, Hyderabad, blames the fear of mathematics for the poor performance of several peers. “Students perform badly in maths because their basics are not clear. My Math Lab concentrates on four basic operations—addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. I wish to eliminate the fear of maths from children of my age,” says the shy 11-year-old. Packed in a specially designed carry-case, the Pioneer House Nischal Math Lab, claimed to be the first of its kind kit in the world, comes with 270 components, involving the use of methodologies like Napier Bones, Abacus, Trachtenberg, Vedic and other conventional methods.Maths must be taught the right way, stresses the child genius’s mother, a PhD in Sanskrit literature herself. “Most teachers focus only on finishing the syllabus. Students need to enjoy what they are learning