December 4, about 10,000 children from 57 countries will compete in a test of maths in Delhi. As children sit in batches of 2,000 to select a winner, Dilpreet Kaur, a 14-year-old from Kanpur, is a clear favourite to win the International Abacus & Mental Arithmetic Competition. Dilpreet is in the Limca Book of Records, a national record holder in speed division. The class VIII student from Huddard High School in Kanpur has been recognised for her exceptional skills in dividing four-digit numbers by two-digit ones (eg 1170 divided by 78). She solved 100 such problems in 96 seconds, taking less than a second to solve each to get into the record books.

In a little lane off the Mall road, Dilpreet’s family lives in a modest second-floor house, reached by a steep, narrow staircase. A railway track runs behind the house, and every speeding train shakes and rattles the walls ‘like an earthquake,’ laughs Dilpreet’s father, Manjeet Singh. He calls out her nickname — Khushi, meaning happiness — and a shy girl comes out of the inner room, wearing a pink T-shirt which says ‘love love love angel.’

From a list of numbers that she cannot see, Manjeet rattles a series of three digit numbers for her to add and subtract. Dilpreet listens, and almost in a trance, rocks back and forth as her fingers work on an imaginary abacus. He stops after 20 numbers and she throws back the answer at him — 5,660.

Dilpreet is up at 5.30 every morning and spends at least 30 minutes building her speed and accuracy before she goes to school. At the speed she works, that’s a lot of numbers. “Until now, she has done more than 35 lakh sums,” Manjeet adds. He should know, he has checked each of her answers, though with some help from his wife, Simran. Their eight-year-old son Parmeet, also pitches in. He whispers into his father ear that Khushi has got two sums out of the 200 wrong! In the last six years, the only breaks Dilpreet has taken from her maths lessons are five days in June every year, when the family visits Punjab.

From their home, Manjeet runs an institute, a franchisee of a Malaysian firm that teaches mental arithmetic to children aged four to 13. The kids use an abacus initially, and upon reaching a certain level, work out complicated sums mentally.

Dilpreet was always quick with numbers, but now her ‘photographic memory,’ as her dad calls it, takes over. She works on her practice sheets and is not distracted by our talking voices. Every day she completes at least 16 pages with 200 problems each. The day’s work done, Dilpreet is off to take her afternoon nap.

“She has always been focussed. We never had to tell her to study, even now we don’t look at her school work,” says Simran.

“She is a good student. We don’t want 99 per cent, the 88 per cent she scored is good enough,” her parents say. They know her talent lies elsewhere. They also know that she is almost at the peak of her ability.

Manjeet has been the driving force behind his daughter’s success. “If every parent puts in an effort, all children will excel,” he says. It is up to the parents to keep children engaged and nurture their skill, believes Manjeet. “Everything is boring for kids, but parents have to get them interested.” Manjeet puts in that effort and more; he is constantly setting new targets for Dilpreet, scanning the internet for new records, or else, checking the answer sheets of the 100 plus kids who study at his centre.

Dilpreet is reading Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven series now, like other kids her age, she enjoys ‘Candy Crush,’ ‘Subway Surf’ and skipping. There is no television in the house, smartphones are the only screen the kids are allowed to watch but she has already reached level 362 on Candy Crush.

Dilpreet is geared up for today’s competition, but the record has also brought with it the pressure to excel consistently. Manjeet however believes, “The pressure is on the other kids. Dilpreet has already shown everyone what she can do. Six years ago, sitting in the same examination hall in Delhi, she had lost her nerve and come out crying. That will not happen again. We will add to the collection of trophies that we have.”

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