She is indeed a very special child who can simply astonish one with her innate ability. Ask this 14-year-old girl the date and month of a particular year anywhere between 1941 and 2050, the reply would at once come in a flash.
Try testing her ability by asking her on which day January 2020 would begin, the response would again be instant. Meet K. Priyanka, a special child afflicted with cerebral palsy, yet endowed with this extraordinary talent.
Daughter of an auto driver N. Kannan, the Tiruchi girl studying eighth standard at Sri Ramakrishna Middle School in Puthur has the unique ability to name days, dates and identify links between multiple years.
It is for her intuitive ability and uncanny precision in pinning a day to any date between 1941 and 2050 that earned her the National Award for Best Creative Child With Disabilities (Girl) recently.
It was undoubtedly a proud moment for the girl and her parents - Kannan and K. Banu when Priyanka received the national award from none less than the President of India at New Delhi on the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities recently.
The parents cannot express their delight in words about their daughter’s talent. It is only God’s grace, says Kannan and Banu in one voice.
It was only in June 2011 that we discovered Priyanka’s unique ability, says Banu, a caretaker in a private school.
I wanted to attend a temple function on a particular day in August and was not sure whether I would be in a position to avail leave on that day.
Listening to this, Priyanka took us by complete surprise by instantly pointing out that the particular day in August would fall on a Saturday. I immediately checked the daily sheet calendar and found to my utter surprise that what she was said was true.
From then on we tested Priyanka by giving random dates, month and year and she would accurately spell out the right answer every time within five seconds, says Banu.
“I feel very happy in receiving the national award” says a beaming Priyanka whose talent stunned Collector Jayashree Muralidharan when she tested the girl’s ability at the Collectorate on Monday after the special child met her with the award.
