But these are small tasks for Saswat . He has memorized 500 years'
calendar and 500-digit numbers. There is a method in his brilliance. He
follows a concept called COMBS — colourful , moving, big and strange
— wherein the brain will capture anything which has these four
elements. "I exercise my brain for an hour every day. For London, I need
to remember 1,000-digit numbers in one hour."
Ask Saswat which
day of the week will be January 31, 2014 and he says, "Saturday...no,
Friday." His father, Debasis Satapathy, an HR executive , who walks in
then explains, "He goes wrong when he's distracted." His phenomenal
memory was noticed when he was six. He was taken by Debasis to a
training camp where memory coach Venkat was showcasing his skills.
"Saswat came home, practiced some tricks and the next day memorized a
20-digit number," says Debasis. "Seeing his potential, I put him under
the tutelage of Anant Kasibhatla , Venkat's son."
Saswat took
flight under him. He won two medals each at the WMC in China in 2010 and
2011. These annual championships began in 1991 and participants are
tested in 10 disciplines. "My expertise is in spoken numbers where the
computer calls out one number per second and one has to remember 200,
300 and 500-digit numbers. I have reached 76-digits . I can also
remember the sequence of a deck of cards in 56 seconds and hope to get
into the Limca Books of Records." So what's the secret of his memory —
genes or training? While Debasis says it's not a God-given gift, genes
have a part to play. Saswat's mother, Sujata Mishra, is a Ph D in
nuclear chemistry from IIT-Delhi and teaches in an engineering college.
"My father has a bad memory," says Saswat.
He's not a topper
though."I am usually third in class," he says. "But yes, memory helps me
remember data such as periodical tables." He also represented India in
the World Mathematics Championship in Germany in 2011 and watches
Shakuntala Devi, the maths wizard. "My friends say I am the future
Shakuntala Devi," he says casually.
Anant says Saswat's
perseverance is his forte. "He practices daily. There are times when
we've trained for six hours." Anyone can get a good memory by doing
brain exercises, he says. "Try not to use a calculator, mobile or a
shopping list. Just memorise."
Surprisingly, it's biology that's
Saswat's favourite subject. "I want to be a cardiologist." His supreme
focus is evident in the black-and-white board adorning his bedroom door.
'Dr Saswat Satapathy, professor of cardiology , AIIMS,' it
proclaims.His principal , Dr D R Saini of DPS, R K Puram, has showcased
him at many forums. "In March, I was felicitated by President Pratibha
Patil during the school's 40th anniversary. I feel nice about that,"
says Saswat. He's also given presentations at IIT-Delhi .
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Posted By Sundeep aka SunTechie
Sundeep
is a Founder of Youth Talent Auzzar, a passionate blogger, a
programmer, a developer, CISE and these days he is pursuing his
graduation in Engineering with Computer Science dept.
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