HYDERABAD: Imagine multiplying two four-digit numbers without using a calculator. Tough isn’t it? This 14-year-old boy from the city, Jonnalagadda Bhanu Prakash, can do it in less than a second. Bhanu Prakash, considered the world’s fastest mental computer, has many accolades in the bag. His biggest achievement so far has been breaking 28 LIMCA book records in the ‘Mental Math’ category. However, the interesting fact is that 21 of the 28 records were broken in a single day.
Bhanu Prakash’s other laurels include winning the International Abacus Championship Tournament in 2013 held at Singapore and the National Abacus Championship in 2011 and 2012 conducted in Bangalore and Pune.One wonders if this a gift or a result of immense practice? “This has been possible due to hours of dedication and practice,” Uma Swamynathan, state head of SIP Academy said.
Bhanu has been undergoing training here for the past five years. The academy trains children, in the ‘abacus way’ of solving arithmetic problems. “Normally in schools, focus is laid on how you solve the problem and not how fast you can solve it but here we teach enhancement techniques which have helped him solve complex problems in seconds,” she added.
Bhanu Prakash is confident of breaking the Guinness record as well. “I have sent a mail to the Guinness World records asking them to evaluate me but they take time to respond to the mails,” the 14-year-old said.
He has been invited to represent India in the 6th Mental Calculation World Cup to be held in Dresden, Germany in October. The Hyderabadi is one among 40 people selected from 70 countries. “The current Guinness record holder will also be there. If I defeat him, I will be listed in the book. I hope to do it,” Bhanu Prakash said.
Currently studying at Ramaiah IIT Study Circle, he completed his schooling by scoring a straight 10 in his CBSE examinations last year. “He has always been a bright boy. He had memorised countries and their flags at the age of one and my credit card numbers at the age of 2. He hates disorganised things and this has brought him to where he is today,” Bhanu Prakash’s father Srinivas Jonnalagadda said.