Kenisha Bathia (10), a class V student of Children’s Academy School, Mumbai is captivating friends and audiences with her extraordinary grasp of ancient Indian mind and memory techniques. She can recall and accurately rattle off up to 100 names in any prescribed order — with a single glance. Coincidentally, Kenisha’s father, Dhaval, was also featured in EducationWorld two decades ago for similar capability! 

The sole child of Dhaval Bathia, a Vedic Math practitioner and author of five books on entrepreneurship, mind and memory training, and Shreya, a practicing lawyer, Kenisha was an early starter in mastering the art of instant memorization. When barely three years of age, she could easily recall numbers, names and faces. When she turned six, she solved her first Sudoku puzzle. At age eight, she started excelling in memory stunts and mental math.

“Last year, I mastered recalling Ardh-Shatavdhan (50 words) and this year Shatavdhan (100 words) with the help of my father, who is my inspiration. He bought me a library of books when I was very young to introduce me to the reading habit. Now he teaches me Vedic Math in a way that does not interfere with how it’s taught in school,” says this voracious pre-teen reader, yoga and meditation practitioner.

A technique Kenisha is working hard towards mastering this summer is creation of Magic Squares — square grids whose lines add up to equal totals. “To begin with, I created a 3×3 grid followed by a 5×5 grid and a large 15×15 grid of 225. In these grids, the total of every row, column and diagonal is identical. Currently I am learning a technique that will enable me to recall days of the week from a 100-year-old calendar,” she enthuses.

Since this gifted child took to mind, math and memory games five years ago, she has greatly improved her concentration and math scores. “Earlier, I was an average student, but now I am among the class toppers. I easily remember famous speeches which has helped me win elocution and public speaking competitions. I’m very grateful to my supportive school principal and teachers for their encouragement and for providing opportunities to exhibit my talent,” says Kenisha, adding that when she is older, she aspires to become another Shakuntala Devi and do stage shows to demonstrate her mind power techniques to the world.

Paromita Sengupta (Bengaluru)

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