Child Prodigy on Pitara Kids Network

Viswanathan Anand – The Lightning Kid

Tue, 04 Jan 2000 05:52:26 +0000

Whenever advertisers want a brainy sportstar to talk about their product, very often they think of one name – Viswanathan Anand. A world-class chess champion who was given the name of Lightning Kid because of the speed with which he played.

But how are world class champions like Vishy born? For that, ask his mother Sushila. In 1974, when he was five, she first opened a chessboard and taught him the game. She was also his first opponent in the game. Anand was her youngest child.

The Making of a Prodigy

Fri, 29 Mar 2002 11:31:32 +0000

When Siva Kalyan was born, his spine or backbone was deformed resulting in a lifelong difficulty in walking. But that hasn’t stopped the nine-year-old from becoming a prodigy. This child, who loves reading comics, writing stories and enjoys sketching cartoon strips, is learning advanced mathematics and physics from one of the most reputed universities in the United States of America.

The Hindu reports that Siva’s parents were in Tamil Nadu when Siva was born. His backbone was not straight, his joints were loose and the muscles were weak. Till he was three-and-a-half years old, Siva could not even crawl. Wanting the best treatment for their son, Siva’s parents moved with him from India to Australia and later shifted to the United States of America.

The Black Hole of Social Weights and Measures

Sun, 28 May 2000 16:03:17 +0000

William James Sidis could speak five languages and read Plato in original Greek by the age of five. At eight he passed the entrance for Harvard but had to wait three years to be admitted. Even so he became Harvard’s youngest scholar and graduate in 1914 at the age of sixteen. Frequently featured in ‘Ripley’s Believe it or Not’, Sidis made the front page of ‘The New York Times’ nineteen times.’

The story defies all conventional norms and may even sound like a joke if you found out that Sidis was born on April 1, 1898. But to the best of our judgement this is a true story*. But then if he was such an amazing character, how come no one knows of him? Whatever happened to him?