Shakuntala Devi’s birth anniversary

KOLKATA, NOV 4: Search engine Google on Monday celebrated the 84th birth anniversary of Shakuntala Devi, popularly known as the “human computer”. The doodle is the animated version of a calculator screen along with a digital sketch of hers. Best known for her ability to do complex mathematical calculations mentally, Shakuntala Devi was a child prodigy. Hailing from a humble family, her talent was first noticed by her father during a game of cards. She was all of three. At the age of six she made her first public performance at the Mysore University, where she demonstrated her calculation skills. This was followed by another performance two years later at the Annamalai University. In 1977, she was able to extracted the 23rd root of a 201-digit number through her mental calculations. She even multiplied two randomly selected 13-digit numbers in just about 28 seconds. Apart from making it to the Guinness Book of World Record, she was also known for authoring several books such as “Fun With Numbers”, “Astrology for You”, “Mathablit”, among others. She breathed her last in April this year.