Wonder boy gives high-speed answers

Stupendous mind

All of seven years and studying in the seventh standard at Ideal Jawa Rotary School here, Rahul answers arithmetic questions at lightning speed, recites the Gayatri Mantra and even answers general knowledge questions with elan.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, his mother Anu Manjunath reminisced about the first time she was left spellbound when Rahul was just two-and-half years old. “Once, I called out the phone number of an aunt residing in USA, loudly, to my husband M S Manjunath.

By the next day, Rahul used the phone and called my aunt’s number,” she recalled. The second incident that left them shocked was that whenever Rahul was told about a landmark near the home or whenever they went outside, he used to immediately recollect it when he revisited the place.

Also Rahul, who used to listen to his mother reciting Gayathri Mantra, started repeating it. According to his mother, he knows answers to 1,000 general knowledge questions, the names of Maharajas of Mysore, Mughal rulers and Kannada poets. Rahul also knows all the traffic signs and symbols and was even called by the police department to improve traffic awareness among their staff.

He was recently felicitated by the Regional Transport Office for his extraordinary abilities. He has also received awards from Women and Child Welfare Department and the ‘Kayaka Ratna award’ by the Kannada Development Authority.

Rahul said that apart from memorising he is interested in drawing, dance and acting in drama and his favourite actor is Puneeth Rajkumar.

Rahul’s mother Anu said that one of his teacher’s told them that he would pass tenth standard if he is given admission, but Anu observed, “If we admit him into 10th standard, he won’t have anybody of his age to share his feelings. We don’t want to deny him his childhood.”