Math max

Meet Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash, the fastest human calculator in the world

- RAHUL DEVULAPALLI

CAN MATTERS OF the heart be detached from the workings of the mind?

Love makes you lose your mind, they say. But maths wizard Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash proved it wrong on December 22, 2020—National Mathematics Day, or birthday of mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan. During a livestream on his YouTube channel with stand-up comedians Abijit Ganguly, Naveen Richard, Praveen Kumar and mentalist Suhani Shah, Bhanu was asked about his love life. With a straight face, the 21-year-old replied that it was great while it lasted. Only, he was simultaneously calculating the sum total of ten random two-digit numbers flashing on the screen, in a matter of milliseconds.

After Bhanu’s correct answer (to the maths query, that is), an astonished Abijit said, “The fact that it was clearly a painful topic, bro… that was really amazing.” Bhanu is an ardent believer in the magic of maths, and according to him it is more than just problem-solving. “It can also help you control your emotions,” he tells THE WEEK over the phone.

A graduate in mathematics from St Stephen’s College in Delhi, Bhanu is not your average number nerd. His livestream was high on entertainment, with maths exercises and tricks taking centre-stage. Towards the end of the nearly two-hour-long session, he also broke his own world record of multiplying a random number 40 times in 15 seconds; this time he did it 42 times.