What is the product of 781 and 355? What do you get when you divide 33,57,324 by 554? Finding the answer is a Herculean task for most of us without calculator. However, it was child’s play for the group of pre-adolescents who gathered to compete in eighth National SIP Abacus & Brain Gym competition at Palace Grounds on Saturday.
About 4,000 children from 18 states took part in the competition. The 11-minute competition comprised three rounds: one allowed using abacus; in the second, the participants had to solve problems by visualising abacus; the third round had complex multiplication and division problems. Whether it was the round where the abacus could be used or the round where students had to visualise it, they worked quickly to solve 125 sums in five minutes. What stood out was that the students barely got distracted by anything.
Baluprasad JN, from Andhra Pradesh, was adjudged the champion of the GMC level (the highest level). The 11-year-old, who studies at Bharathi Vidya Bhavan, said he trained intensely for four months for this competition.
“I am very proud. This is the first time I have won the first place,” he gushed while adding that he often helps out his fellow classmates with homework. “I finish calculating much faster, so they ask me to help them,” he said.
The students, majority of whom are in the bracket of 7-12 years, said they set aside some time every day to solve problems using the abacus method, which helps them in their school work.
Tushar Girinath, commissioner, department of public instruction, and MA Saleem, additional commissioner of police (traffic) were present.
“I was poor in maths. Seeing these young children, I feel I might have done better if I had learnt this way,” Saleem said.
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