The very word ‘Mathematics’ haunts the minds of a few and they feel it is a pain, there are a few others who are petrified at the sound of numbers. But for K. Jayaganesh, a Class X student of DAV Public School, Velachery, things are different. He humbly smiles at these statements and goes on to say, “Do not be scary of Maths, for numbers are wonderful and fascinating”.
Jayaganesh says that he has an ardent love for crunching numbers, which helped him gain deeper thinking and clear concentration. He has spent years honing his mathematical skills to perfection. This IIT aspirant has shown keen enthusiasm in mathematics from when he was barely eight-years-old. His myriad certificates and prizes bear testimony to this. His father G. Kalyanasundaram says, “Right from Class III, he showed interest in mathematics and was inclined towards understanding the concepts and its applications in solving problems.”
Speed and accuracy
It seems that Jayaganesh’s brains have muscles resembling the toned arms of a sinewy body builder. With his toned brains, even during his initial years of schooling, Jayaganesh had undergone eight levels of course in ‘Brain GYM and Abacus’. Abacus is a mental exercise, which helps children to improve concentration and stay focussed. Jayaganesh says, “The course helped me calculate faster, without the use of paper and pen. I used to solve problems mentally.” His mother K. Banu says that he is very confident and has earned speed as well as accuracy in solving problems.
Liking for physics
His interest in mathematics has helped him develop a liking for physics too, says his grandfather R. Gurumoorthy, who used to escort him for all his extra coaching classes, examinations and other competitions. I always prefer going with my grandfather, he would advise me on the ways of taking examinations, about how I should behave in the examination hall and so on, says Jayaganesh thankfully.
Having gained knowledge in both the subjects, he has participated in various intra-school, inter-school and other Olympiad and talent search examinations and bagged several awards, certificates and cash prizes. Anyone stepping into his residence cannot avoid wondering at the shelf packed with his awards.
Jayaganesh has been attending maths Olympiad exam from Class VII and had been successful too. He says, “Maths Olympiad exams have a different approach from the school curriculum. The technique encourages students to think creatively. It enhances lateral thinking.”
Recently, Jayaganesh has been selected in Zonal Informatics Olympiad and was amongst the only three Class X students of Tamil Nadu. He is now preparing hard for National Informatics Olympiad. Besides, he is awaiting results of Regional Math Olympiad. Not with this. He stood amongst the top performers and has scored all-India-rank 119 in the FIITJEE’s All India Talent Reward examination. For his performance, he has got 100% scholarship for the 2-year IIT coaching programme and has also won Rs.60,000/- cash award as scholarship.
Chess player
An avid chess player and Sudoku enthusiast, Jayaganesh says he owes all his credit to his coachers and mentors Sadagopan Rajesh (mathematics) and Balaji Sampath (physics).
He also thanks his school principal, Ms. Minoo Agarwal, and other teachers for encouraging him in all his efforts and for supporting him in his ambition of entering IIT-Madras. “Though my passion lies with maths and science, my hobby is to play keyboard,” says Jayaganesh, while playing a tune on his instrument.
