Mensa India President Nirav Sanghavi talks to Roshni Nair about the work done by the high-IQ society in the country and why there's no such thing as the 'typical Mensan'
In his side-splitting memoir The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World, experiential journalist AJ Jacobs wrote about his experience at a Mensa convention in Staten Island, New York. One anecdote in particular revealed that Mensans wore colour-coded nametags at Mensa events. A red sticker means 'no hugs at all'. Green means hugs are allowed, while a yellow sticker instructs fellow members to ask before hugging. The collective fondness for board games and quiz sessions was also detailed in Jacobs' book. And with that, the archetype of the eccentric, socially-awkward Mensan was reinforced.
"This supposed link between high IQ and social ineptitude is a generalisation. A person can be socially inept for many reasons, not just because of high IQ," says Nirav Sanghavi, who heads Mensa India. "But yes, shyness is pandemic to Mensa."
Sanghavi owns two businesses — one of which he has named after Chanakya, the ancient Indian strategist, writer and royal advisor, considered to be a genius. Like Chanakya, who played a vital role in establishing and strengthening the Mauryan empire, Sanghavi is keen to bolster Mensa's reach in the country.
He's also keen to quash the stereotype of the typical Mensan. "Our Tribal Mensa Nurturing Program (TMNP) has been around since 2002 and is just one of the ways in which we give something back to society," he stresses.
TMNP is aimed at identifying 'intellectually gifted' tribal children and nurturing them to reach their full potential. Since its inception, TMNP has screened more than 13,000 children nationwide and identified over 700 who have 'characteristic behaviours and intellectual capabilities'. Such children are given scholarships and financial support.
Sanghavi is categorical about the support that high-IQ kids need. "The intellectually gifted have special needs and hence need special support. They need to be nurtured in a particular way, akin to a mentor-mentee relationship," explains Sanghavi.
Mensa India is inundated with requests from parents who believe their kids are deserving of a membership, he shares. "But we don't screen those below the age of 14. TMNP is the only exception because those kids don't have the privileges and opportunities we do." And if your child is intellectually gifted, Sanghavi adds, don't tom-tom about it. "It's an added responsibility. Not many realise that."
Despite downplaying Mensa's highbrow image, Sanghavi talks about the time he'd sometimes feel left out as a child. "Nobody understood my jokes, and my teachers didn't like that I asked many questions because they felt my inquisitiveness took the class off course," he says with a slight smile.
Sanghavi, who holds an engineering and an MBA degree, appeared for the now-fabled Mensa test in 1991 – which, of course, he passed. The requirement for membership is a score of 98% or higher in Mensa's standardised test. "Intelligence has many aspects, and each IQ test has its own scale. So measuring your intelligence through different IQ tests is like weighing yourself on different planets," Sanghavi explains.
Mensa India's standardised tests are created by Pune's Jnana Prabodhini Prashala, an institution for gifted children. Interestingly, Mensa's tests can also differ from country to country. "India being so diverse needs a test that doesn't discriminate against parameters like social and financial background, level of education, and the language spoken," Sanghavi says.
As such, Mensa India's IQ tests use less text and more graphics. It's also for the same reason that the organisation has members ranging from a mali (gardener) to a certain Shaleen Harlalka, a whiz kid who invented a landmine detector when he was 16. Other notables include national puzzle and Sudoku champions Tejal Phatak and Rohan Rao and Bhushan Mahadik, a PhD student who has an asteroid named after him.
Mensa India's future plans include expanding to smaller towns and cities and registering itself as a limited company. Sanghavi also wants to revamp the rather dated Mensa India website. And what about their fabled meet-ups? "We used to get together every third Sunday. Hikes and treks were prevalent, but everyone is so busy nowadays so we just meet whenever everyone is available," he says.
From the looks of it, there won't be a nametag-studded convention anytime soon.
Mensa India's demographics 3,000 total members in India
1,959 members in Pune-Nashik alone
476 in Mumbai
211 in Delhi/NCR
204 in Chennai
131 in Bangalore
19 in Hyderabad
Mensans from Venus
With just 10.5% female members, an overwhelming majority of Mensa India's members are male
29% of members in Mumbai and 17% in Delhi are female
Age group
A majority of members fall in the 15-30 year age group at the time of joining
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