KOCHI: They say age is just a number, and KG-2 student Mahalekshmi Anand is the perfect example to cite. At the age of five, the Kollam native who resides with her parents in Abu Dhabi already has nine record titles to her credit.
The only daughter of engineer Anand Kumar and Neena Anand, Mahalekshmi’s interest in learning and memorising was identified by her parents when she was just one-and-a-half years old. Currently, she holds the world record in three categories -- the maximum number of inventors and their inventions recalled in a minute, the youngest and fastest to perform and recite the most number of Bharatanatyam mudras and expressions in 54 seconds, and the latest one being the youngest and fastest to recall the states and capitals of India in alphabetical order in 26 seconds.
The little genius received her first record title at the age of five, as the youngest to identify the most number of scientists and their inventions in a minute. Under this category, she bagged one national record (India Book of Records) and three world records (International Book of Records, British World Records, and Kalams World Records for Extraordinary Grasping Power Genius Kid).
She also bagged the record title for being the youngest and fastest to perform and recite the maximum number of Bharatanatyam mudras and expression. The child, who has been trained in Bharatanatyam under Kalamandalam Amruta Deepak for less than a year now, can perform 55 of the total 81 mudras and expressions in 53 seconds. Under this category, she received a national record (India Book of Records) and three world records (International Book Of Records, British World Records, and Champions Book of World Records)
“From a very young age, she was keen on learning. We realised her potential when she began to memorise and recite whatever we taught her or showed her from a book. When she was one-and-a-half years old, I was preparing for state government exams. When she came and sat next to me, I started to teach her about scientists and their inventions. To our surprise, she remembered what I taught her. Even when quizzed after two days, she would answer,” said Neena.
Her thirst for knowledge was deep by the age of three. “She began to learn names of the scientists and their inventions alphabetically,” said Neena, who is grateful for the internet as Mahalekshmi’s doubts and questions often end up stumping the couple.