Shiva Yogetha, A&N Island's child prodigy turns pandemic into a blessing
Creates World Record, Youngest to expeditiously recite backward
counting from 100 to 1, in 51 Sec
By
Shiva Yogetha from Shore Point village in the district of South Andaman is the World Record holder for being the youngest to expeditiously recite backwards counting from 100 to 1. She entered into the International Book of Records at an age of 4 Years and 4 months.
Born on March 20, 2017 to Shiva Kumar and M Rathika, Yogetha, the youngest daughter of the proud couple turned the pandemic into a blessing. While others were fretting and cursing their fate after being forced indoors due to lockdown restrictions, this KG-I student dedicated herself to hone her skills in painting, reciting alphabets, words, numbers, number names, body parts, fruits and what not.
Recalling the day when Mrs Rathika, mother of
Yogetha took her daughter to Carmel Pre-Primary School, Port Blair for getting
her an admission there, she said, she randomly picked up some books that the
school has kept for giving away in charity.
To everyone’s astonishment, Yogetha displayed her caliber painting an outlined image of banana using wax crayon with such precision and control that despite closer scrutiny, none could spot any noticeable slip or stroke outside the guiding line. In no time, she completed all the pages in the coloring book and went on to pick remaining books on varied subjects one after the other. Soon she was perfectly at ease with numbers, alphabets, number names, body parts, fruits etc.
At this stage, Yogetha was given the task of
backward counting of numbers from 100 to 1. Prompted by the keenness in her
daughter to learn things, that are complex for her age, Rathika started to keep
time. Later vedio recording of the recital was attempted. But there was a
problem. The phone could record only one minute vedio footage whereas Yogetha was
taking close to two minutes.
Maithili, her elder daughter also joined to motivate her sister. After weeks of practice and several attempts, Yogetha was apparently able to complete reverse counting from 100 to 1 within one minute time frame. But when the footage was played back, the vedio stopped one digit short of the complete set!
Repeated misses with seemingly achievable deadline neither deterred Yogetha nor dampen the spirit of cheering family members. After a few more attempts at it, came the red letter day. It was on 19th August, 2021 when Yogetha finally succeeded in backward counting of numerals from 100 to 1 in just 51 seconds. The elusive feat was eventually captured on mobile phone and the footage played back to the amusement of everyone in the family.
The feat was submitted to India Book of Records where Yogetha was adjudged “the youngest to expeditiously recite backward counting from 100 to 1” thus got her name mentioned in the India Book of Records 2021. She received a Certificate, Medallion and 2021 edition of India Book of Records. Subsequently it was found, the 51 Seconds time she clocked to reverse count from 100 to 1, is in fact the fastest in the world. After several rounds of verification and authentication checks at different levels, Yogetha was thus declared “World Record Holder” and her feat officially recognized as “Fastest to recite backward 100 to 1 counting” and her name included in the International Book of Records.
During my recent visit to Yogetha, it was
heartening to note Yogetha’s elder sister Maithili, a student of Class VIII,
Carmel Senior Secondary School, Port Blair is also an achiever, having a pretty
impressive and long list of accolades in her kitty. “It is a proud moment for all
of us” said a jubilant Maithili when asked about her sister’s feat. She said
she feels very good about her sister entering into record books. Maithili aims
to join civil services when she grows up.
“My children is my time pass” said Mrs Rathika who gave up her job after getting married and likes to spend time with her two daughters. Shiva Kumar who runs a small shop at Bambooflat jetty delivering computer based job works and courier delivery service, says he never forces his children on studies. In fact he sees to it that children get to play as much as they study.
Recognising the island girl’s achievement, District Administration felicitated Shiva Yogetha and promised every possible help in shaping her future. The felicitation Yogetha received at the hands of Deputy Commissioner Shri Suneel Anchipaka, IAS will go a long way in motivating her daughter and others in the islands to achieve such feats in future, said Mr Kumar.
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| President With You (L) felicitating Yogetha |
With You, a prominent NGO working for the upliftment of rural woman, based in rural South Andaman also felicitated
Yogetha with a memento at a function organized on the occasion of Children’s
Day – 2021 at GSSS Bambooflat. Miss V K Mariam Bibi, President, With You lauding
Yogetha’s achievement, asked children present in the audience to draw
inspiration and emulate her feat. Mrs Shobha,
Principal of GSSS Bambooflat appreciating the World Record feat called it a proud
moment for Andaman & Nicobar Islands. “My daughter is the Chief Guest of Children’s Day
function, I have nothing more to ask for” said Mr Shiva Kumar.
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| Yogetha (3rd from L) Hon'ble MP Shri Kuldeep Rai Sharma (4th from L) |
Shri Kuldeep Rai Sharma, Hon’ble Member of
Parliament, Andaman & Nicobar Parliamentary constituency also visited Yogetha, spared his
valuable time interacting and later felicitated Yogetha in his office for her world record feat. While
expressing confidence that Yogetha will make more records in the future, Hon’ble
MP extended his blessings on the child prodigy and wished Yogetha’s feat will
serve as an inspiration for others in the islands as well.
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| Yogetha with Members of Andaman Tamizar Sangam |
Andaman Tamizar Sangam, a long standing and
reputed non-governmental organisation of the islands also felicitated Shiva Yogetha
with a Citation, Medallion and Cash Reward at a special function held at its
premises at Port Blair. The President, Vice President and other office bearers
of the sangam appreciated the young achiever. Considering her age and island
background, the organization christened Yogetha’s feat as rare and impressive. Tamizar
Sangam also offered its wholehearted support to the World Record Holder child and
her family in their future endeavors.
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| Shri Kuldeep Rai Sharma Hon'ble MP, A&N Islands (L) felicitating Yogetha |
Thus an activity, which was intended to keep the child occupied indoors during pandemic lockdown, turned into a blessing. The feat that Yogetha achieved with her perseverance not only earned her the coveted title of “World Record Holder” at just 4 Years and 4 months of age. In doing so, she proved true the age old saying that with perseverance, anything and everything can be achieved at any age.
The attention and felicitations Shiva Yogetha received
from the Deputy Commissioner, A&N Administration, Hon’ble Member of
Parliament A&N Islands and a couple of prominent NGO’s is going to serve as
a huge morale booster for the child prodigy and inspire others to pursue and
persist in what they dream to achieve. For Yogetha, you guessed it right, she isn’t
contented!
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