Master Nikhil S Nandhan is a student of Aloha Learning Centre Basaveshwarnagar, Bengaluru has won the state award for his outstanding talent in the field of Education (Mental Arithmetic Skills). Ms.Pankajam, Director, Women and Child welfare department, Govt of Karnataka, presented the State Award to the Child.

Mr. Ramesh Halbhavi, Deputy Director, Women and Child welfare department, Govt of Karnataka was also present on the occasion and requested Master Nikhil S Nandhan to give a live demo on the Mental Arithmetic Skills.

Nikhil was very well appreciated and applauded by all the other dignitaries and guests who were present on the occasion. Hearty Congratulations! from Aloha India .

Jahnavi Chabria wouldn't be able to claim being as adept as the expert mathematicians from the ancient Egyptian, Greek and Chinese civilisations. But when it comes to performing complicated calculations on that intriguingly meditative system of counting off numbers with a frame-like matrix of coloured beads, Chabria is very close to being a champ. Say, 72 minus 50, plus 26, 46 removed, and after a flurry of fingertips, pat follows the reply: two.

The sums aren't the biggest problem for young Chabria - the difficulty, evidently, was in handling the pairs of adult eyes that examine her every move. On the day we visited her, no less than six such sets of oculi remained transfixed on the child, expectant of her sealing a claim to being the next Ramanujam, Shakuntala Devi, or perhaps even a John Forbes Nash. Chabria began learning the abacus at the centre called Abacus Learning of Higher Arithmetic (ALOHA) about a year ago. "I'm able to raise my hand in school and answer," she said, apparently struck by a sudden bout of embarrassment.

Her first standard class at Sophia High School is being introduced to basic addition in mathematics, while she's already reached the stage of studying multiplication tables on the abacus in her extra-curricular classes. "I get full marks and one star in each test," she said.

The abacus's return to popularity is spoken of in light of its supposed ability to improve concentration levels in children. When presented with a series of numbers to calculate, Chabria visualises the beads in her head and comes up with an answer, by dint of sheer practice. "I feel that other children in my class should also learn the abacus," she said. "It makes maths easier."

It was indeed a proud moment for each one of us at Aloha India when one our our students, E.T.Poonkuzhali was honoured with the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement, 2009 for her skills in Mental Arithmetic.

Poonkuzhali was among the 25 child achievers who received the awards for exceptional brilliance from Ms Krishna Tirath, the Union Minister for women and child development at a felicitation ceremony held in New Delhi on 14th November 2009. She received a silver medal and a citation as part of the award. The Ceremony was attended by Sri Motilal Vohra, MP, Dr Karan Singh, MP and President, ICCR and Dr(Smt) Kapila Vatsyayan, MP.

Poonkuzhali has a number of awards to her credit at a tender age of 7 years including the National award in 2008 and also the International Award in 2009 at the Aloha Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Competitions. She has also won many other recognitions in cultural activities. It is a matter of great National pride that she has achieved such great feats at a tender age.

Her achievements have been a source of inspiration to many of her friends. She has also received great reviews in press coverage and national media. We extend our congratulations on her proud achievements and truly admirable skills and wish her all the best for her future endeavours. We are sure she will bring many such laurels to Aloha India and her parents!!