Anand Mahindra is 'bewildered' with teen who mentally added 100 4-digit numbers in 30.9 seconds

Industrialist Anand Mahindra has said that he was left "dazed and bewildered" by the skills of 14-year-old Aaryan Shukla after he broke the world record for the fastest time to mentally add 100 four-digit numbers last month. The teen had accomplished the feat in 30.9 seconds.

Congratulating Shukla, the Mahindra Group chairperson wrote on X, "I’ve seen some videos before of kids using this technique where the hands are used, in some way, to aid calculation. I’m sure Aaryan has a special gift beyond the ordinary, but are there any sites that give a primer on the fundamentals of this technique?"

He added that he was not looking to break any world record, but use it for some simple, daily business calculations.

The math prodigy, who hails from Maharashtra, responded to Mahindra's post and said, "Thank you very much, Sir. I am a mental calculator (human calculator). The technique is called 'Flash Anzan' where you have to process the numbers flashing on the screen at lightning speed. The base is Abacus. While I have been training for last eight years to achieve this. Thanks!"

Mahindra replied, "Amazing. Proves that no matter how gifted you are, there’s no substitute for consistent hard work and practice. And thanks for responding and sharing the name of your technique. I will look it up on the web."