As the patron goddess of everything fabulous, Lady Gaga, must have once said, talent has nothing to do with age. We agree!
You don’t need to tell us that by the time she was fifteen, Britney Spears was already raging superstar.
In India too, there is no dearth of child prodigies who have shown extra-ordinary prowess at an age when we could not think more than toys and chocolates. This children’s day we are celebrating the achievements of five such kids.
1) Advait Kolarkar:
At the age of four, Advait has created quite a buzz in the art circuit and many are hailing him as a prodigy. Hailing from Pune, The preschooler became the youngest artist to have a solo exhibit at the Saint John Arts Centre in Canada (2016). His work was also displayed at the New York Art Expo in April. His Facebook page describes him as “the youngest abstract expressionist painter”. His journey began when he was just eight-months old and his work is representative of his own vivid imaginations, his belief in the world of dragon and galaxies.Advait’s paintings sell for thousands of dollars. But, his parents make sure he knows the value of money and keep him grounded by making him realise the need to donate his earnings to charities.
2) Chirag Rathi:
It takes nearly 2-3 seconds for Chirag Rathi to multiply 42,225 by 645. The 12-year-old can recite tables up to 20 crore within a span of seconds. Hailing from UP’s Saharanpur, the prodigy idolises mathematics genius Aryabhata and wants to become a scientist. The son of a labouerer, his family faced earlier faced hardships in teaching his child before a private school decided to waive off his fees. The school has appointed a special faculty member for him so that he can learn the subject till Class XII. Needless to say, Chirag is able to ace it with minimal effort.
3) Arshdeep Singh:
10-year-old Arshdeep Singh from Jalandhar is an ace photographer who recentlyt won the prestigious Young Wildlife Photographer of The Year (Asia) award for his stunning photo, titled ‘Pipe Owls’. While driving through Punjab’s Kapurthala with father Arshdeep saw a spotted owlet fly inside a tube. He patiently waited for the birds to peep out and then captured the award-winning shot. Arshdeep started photography at the age of six. His father, Randeep Singh, a well-known photographer, gifted him a camera and a lens on his fifth birthday. Since then, he is living the dream of photography.The young boy’s photographs have featured in top international photography magazines like Lonely Planet UK, Germany & India and BBC Wildlife UK.
4) Md Hassan Ali
Hyderabad’s Hassan Ali teaches engineering students in his spare time. The 11-year-old gives lessons in “design and drafting” to students pursuing civil, mechanical and electrical engineering. He manages this despite attending his school regularly and completing his homework. Ali, who has learned design through internet currently teaches 30 engineering students many of whom are twice his age and no, he doesn’t charge anything. He says he is doing the service for India so that the engineers of today are more employable and don’t have to do jobs that don’t match their education abroad.
5) Shourya Jain
From hip hop to Kathak, nothing is too difficult for this eight-year-old, who has become a celebrity back home in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh. The third grader is adept at all the dance forms and effortlessly teaches people of different age groups as well. She started dancing when she was barely three years old, and she has been taking dance lessons for her neighbourhood for about two years. The youngster recently made her TV debut with dance reality show Dance Deewane, and needless to say, left the judges in awe of her.
