KOCHI: Viswajith V, a seven-year-old from Thiruvananthapuram, has made headlines setting a Guinness World Record for having identified the scientific names of 41 dinosaurs in just one minute.
Unlike many children his age, Viswajith’s parents never felt the need to limit his screen time, as he naturally gravitated towards creating imaginative worlds filled with animals from a young age.
This innate creativity and curiosity have led him to become one of Kerala’s youngest Guinness World Record holders. “I love animals, especially dinosaurs after watching Jurassic Park,” Viswajith smiles.
He is the only child of IT professionals Sindhu J and Viswaraj S. The parents noticed his special interests and knack for learning early on, and they were there to cheer him every step of the way.
“Ever since he watched Jurassic Park, Viswajith has been obsessed with dinosaurs,” explains Sindhu.
“At just two years of age, he began playing with dinosaur toys and eagerly learning their names. His hunger for knowledge was clear from then. Whenever we bought a new dinosaur toy for him, he would always ask about its scientific name before starting to play with it. Now he has a good collection of dinosaur toys and books related to that.”
Viswajith’s talents extend beyond memorisation; he has also proved his artistic abilities.
“By the time he was three, he had already started drawing. His love for animals inspired him in this area as well, sketching dinosaurs and other creatures,” recalls Sindhu.
His talent was recognised by organisations such as the India Book of Records, International Book of Records, Super Talented Kid One in a Million Awards, and the Kalaam World Record.
He achieved this by drawing continuously for 30 minutes using only a black sketch pen and coloured pencil, without any other aid or reference. Impressively, he depicted 23 sea creatures purely from his imagination.
Viswajith’s artistic skills didn’t stop there. He also excelled in colouring competitions, winning second place in the ASISC cultural festival in Kerala and ranking 12th nationally in a competition organised by the Heritage Foundation of Art and Culture while in Class 1.
His creative artwork was further acknowledged with an Honourable Mention award from the India Art Gallery in an international art contest.
Viswajith, a Class 2 student of the Sarvodaya Central Vidyalaya in Nalanchira, has a clear vision for his future, even at his young age. As his mother says, “I’m not sure where he picked up the word, but he consistently expresses his wish to become a paleontologist.”