Published 14:21 IST, August 4th 2020
Shakuntala Devi's old video showing her solving mathematical questions goes viral
Shakuntala Devi Solving maths problem video creates buzz on social medi
A video of mathematician Shakuntala Devi is creating a buzz on social media, the video is from 1977 Doordarshan episode in which Shakuntala Devi is performing for an Indian crowd shortly after her return from a series of international performances. Recently movie on mathematician and author Shakuntala Devi was released, starring actor Vidya Balan.
Shakuntala Devi is popularly known as a human-computer. She was known for solving complex mathematical problems in a matter of seconds without the use of pen, paper, or calculator. Not only this she also holds Guinness Book World Record for correctly multiplying two randomly selected 13-digit numbers within 28 seconds.
In a 35-minute, a long video shared by Prasar Bharti Archives on YouTube show Shakuntala Devi solving hard mathematical problems in seconds while interacting with the audience. The video has gone viral on social media, on YouTube it was seen by more than 500,000 viewers.
Shakuntala Devi’s early life
Shakuntala Devi was born in a Kannada family. Her father was a lion tamer in a circus, who found her daughter’s ability to memorize numbers while teaching her card tricks. Shakuntala Devi showed her tremendous gift despite not having received any formal schooling. Despite her image as a mathematician, she is also known as a writer, who had penned more than a dozen books on mathematic puzzles.
Shakuntala Devi movie
A movie based on Shakuntala Devi was released on July 31 by Amazon Prime and directed by Anu Menon. In the movie, Shakuntala Devi could be seen as a character who never settled for what the society offered her. Biopic throws light into the personal life of the mathematician - how a Maths prodigy lived her life when she was not solving hard problems on the stage. The film starts with teenage Shakuntala solving a difficult math problem, which his neighbor is unable to do. Soon, Shakuntala is the puppet of her father's order, who takes her to different schools, and uses her talent to earn a living. The movie also tells teenage Shakuntala is wiser than her contemporaries.
Updated 14:21 IST, August 4th 2020