Numbers game
Maths-phobia is not something new. Now teachers and students are going back to ancient times to make it easier to learn it. Baishali Mukherjee reports
Scratching your head sitting in a nerve wrecking competitive exam where even a shortfall of .005 point can make a huge difference to your career? Don’t really know how to multiply a nine digit number with another nine digit number in just three seconds? Well, you can possibly try some thing that apparently sounds too primitive or old fashioned- the Vedic Maths.
Consider this. Dhananjai Chitlangia, a second year student of IIT Kharagpur, lacked confidence while solving problems that required calculations without a calculator until at the suggestion of a friend he attended the High Speed Vedic Maths workshop that was held in Kolkata. Says Chitlangia, "I used some of the methods that I had learnt during my course like the 'Base method', 'All from 9' and 'Last from 10', 'Simple Squares' etc. and found to my amazement that not only was my time saved during the exams but also my accuracy level increased dramatically."
Is maths your Achilles' heel too? Do the numbers play truant with you and give you nightmares? Many people all over the world find handling numbers tricky. But thanks to the two of the oldest schools of mathematics in the world (Vedic Maths and Abacus), many have overcome their struggle with numbers and are now finding the calculations easy and interesting. Both the schools have emerged widely successful in doing away with maths-phobia among students. Ten to fifteen times faster than normal calculation methods these two techniques are said to sharpen the mind and improve mental agility and intelligence. While calculations in Vedic Maths are done mentally, Abacus uses an instrument of moving beads.
Vedic Mathematics is an ancient system mathematics of India rooted in Vedic times. It was rediscovered through research Bharati Krsna Tirthaji between 1911 and 1918 According to this research all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae principles contained in the 'Ganita Sutras'. "These formulae describe the way the mind naturally works and are therefore a great help in directing the student to the appropriate method of solution," according to the website of Vedic Maths Forum, India. This Forum is at the forefront engaging in imparting knowledge and training on Vedic mathematics has already set up bases across seven countries and now has plans to spread its wings across 20 countries over the next three years. According to Gaurav Tekriwal, president, "Vedic Maths is becoming far more important with every passing day in India. The reason for this phobia for maths which exists among kids. Students are often unable to cope up with the subject. In fact, the phobia is so much that they hate it. In such a scenario Vedic Maths makes maths fun and enjoyable through its ingenious methods."
Suvra Roy, a teacher of St. Teresa's Secondary School who too attended a workshop on Vedic Maths, held in his school elaborates: "How would you find squares of numbers ending with 5 in less than 3 seconds? Forget about the conventional method that you may have been taught in your school. Take the case of 35, for instance. The word formula is simple: "By One more than the One before" to the ten’s place. So what's 1 more than 3? It is 4. Therefore one has to multiply 3 with 4 to get 12. That's the first part of the answer. To get the second part of the answer one has to multiply 5 with 5. The second part of the answer therefore is 25. Now let the second part sit next to the first part to get the final answer. The final answer is 1225. One can keep on trying the same method with 45, 55, 65, 95, 105 and so on......"
While Vedic Maths has its roots in India, Abacus School of Mathematics has its origin in China. "Known as the world’s oldest "calculator" Abacus is now used by children across the globe to improve their numerical efficiency, concentration and energy" says Sunandita Dey, head of learning, SIP Abacus & Brain Gym, Kolkata.
With 500 centers in India and a student strength of more than 1 lakh, it is the most popular program taught in the country. Working with the motto of "make numbers your friend" Sunandita has been successful in running her institution with an enrolment of more than 50 students in the centre.
"The age group of students interested in Abacus varies from 8-16, as it's easy for them to learn Abacus than Vedic Maths at such a tender age," says Dey. Vedic Maths, she believes, "is for the students taking preparations for competitive exams, and for engineering and commerce students (though Tekriwal contradicts this saying that Vedic Maths can be learnt at any stage).
Abacus provides students with an instrument of moving beads, which helps the children to do the calculations easily. However, a student who practises sufficiently and has reached a certain level can visualise the abacus and does not need the instrument in front of him every time." Janaki Venkatramani, state head, SIP Academy India Private Ltd, who has personal exposures to both abacus and Vedic maths says, "Abacus helps building picture memory in the kids. And visual impression is very important and that comes to one's mind first. It's a tool that builds listening skill, attention or concentration skill, retention skill and recall skills." She claims abacus also builds one's left (logical) and right (creative) brain in an even and balanced manner. "Quite like going to a gym to build muscles; one needs to go to a brain gym to build one’s mental muscles." she says.
Venkatramani reveals that SIP Academy's Brain Gym is often used by leading companies for stress management of their employees and by parents of special children, said. It has also tied up with some leading schools in Kolkata. Says Sruti Thakur, a PR professional whose son Swapneel is learning abacus at the Academy, "At times I noticed that my son was afraid of numbers. He was not confident enough to do his mental maths. After his introduction to algebra, I decided to put him through abacus classes. He seems to be more confident than before, and ready to learn the different wings of maths."
Ironically, while the Indian-origin Vedic Maths is increasingly becoming popular in western countries, abacus or the Chinese school of maths is gaining a strong foothold in this country. The Vedic Maths Forum, India, has now been entrusted by the South African government to teach High Speed Vedic Maths Methods across 9000 schools in the country.
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