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What day of the week will be August 15, 2080? Or what day was September 21, 1921? Ask Varun, a 6th standard student of Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Kannur about any date 500 years forward or an equal number of years back and he can say it in a jiffy.
He learned the trick of memorizing the calendar of 200 years from his father, Vijayan, a Primary School teacher. Later he extended the skill to more years on his own. If the year in question is a leap year, he may hesitate for a second. But he has so far not made a mistake in telling the date.
It is not the dates alone that revolve in his memory. The details of States like capital city, area etc. are at his fingertips. He can mention the 415 languages of 189 countries and locate even the smallest countries on the globe.
“At the age of 1½, he could say the vowels. Before he was 3 he could tell the capital cities of 50 countries,” says his father about Varun’s abilities.
The changing time zones across the globe are well known to him. What will be the time in Canada when it is 12-noon in India? He can say it all without batting an eyelid.
Considering his brilliance the school authorities have waived off his fees up to 12th standard.
Vijayan wrote to the NCERT to assess his son’s IQ. But his efforts did not bear fruit. However, the silver lining is that the Gujarati Jain community invited Varun to Mumbai and honoured him with a computer.
Talent may not be appreciated in one’s own land, isn’t it?
Courtesy: Jayakumar Pandala (text), Jose Kutty Panakkal (photo), Vanitha, November 1-14, 2002
Contributed by: Administrator
