KOCHI: For six-year-old Thathvik R S, reciting the names of 101 Kauravas from the epic Mahabharatha within a minute is a breeze. In one minute 14 seconds, the Thiruvananthapuram-native can recall the names of all 100 sons and one daughter of Dhritarashtra. The boy has also set a record for being the fastest to recite ten long English words found in the Oxford dictionary along with their spellings in just one minute and 35 seconds.
At this young age, Thathvik has several records to his name, including a spot in the India Book of Records, Asia Book of Records and International Book of Records for his extraordinary skill set. Elated with the record winning titles, and appreciation, Thathvik who is a voracious reader shares his secret of remembering the names and long words.
“I started off with memorising the names of states and capitals. When big words come, I split them and learn it by heart. For the 101 Kauravas, I learned ten names each day, and finally, I could recite all of them,” says Thathvik, who is a class 1 student of St. Paul’s CSIWF Central School, Uchakkada, Balaramapuram.
It was his mother Sreethu Shyam, a teacher at Government. LPS Kottukal discovered his hidden talent. According to her, Thathvik was introduced to newspapers at an early stage. He even picked letters from Malayalam newspapers when he was two-and-half years old. “When my father Shyamaprasad used to read newspaper in the morning, Thathvik also accompanied him. Seeing his interest in reading, we bought him many books, including GK. One must be aware of the political and social occurrences happening around them. I used to read out important facts to my son to improve his IQ, she says.
Thathvik got the chance to perform in front of people after his mother enrolled his name in an online abacus class. “The class always encouraged the students to do special performances. When the other kids of his age did dance and music, Thathvik instead recited the names of state, capitals, famous waterfalls in Kerala, birds, and even recited the numbers and alphabets in backward order,” says Sreethu.
The young champ’s attempt was recognised by many prolific personalities.
The records selection committee approved Thathvik’s record on May 2021. “One of my colleagues suggested the idea of applying for the book of records. Then we recorded a video of him reciting the long words and the names of the 101 Kauravas to the selection committee,”says Sreethu.
Recently Shashi Tharoor appreciated Thatvik’s effort on his social media handle. “It is Thathvik’s dream to meet him in person,” adds Sreethu