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Shakuntala Devi

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For other uses, see Shakuntala Devi (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Sakuntla Devi.

Shakuntala Devi
File:Shakuntala Devi (writer and mental calculator).jpg
Shakuntala Devi
Born(1929-11-04)4 November 1929
Bangalore, Princely State of Mysore, British India (present day Karnataka, India)
Died21 April 2013(2013-04-21) (aged 83)
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Other namesHuman computer
Occupation(s)Author, mathematician, social worker

Shakuntala Devi (4 November 1929 – 21 April 2013) was an Indian writer and mental calculator, popularly known as the "Human Computer". Devi strove to simplify mathematics for students.[1][2][3][4][5] Her talent earned her a place in the 1982 edition of The Guinness Book of world Records.[6][2][3][7][6][3]

Devi wrote a number of books in her later years, including novels as well as texts about mathematics, puzzles, and astrology. She wrote the book The World Of Homosexuals, which is considered the first study of homosexuality in India.[8][9] She saw in a positive light and is considered a pioneer in the field.[8]

Early life

Shakuntala Devi was born in Bengaluru, Karnataka[2][3] to a Kannada Brahmin family.[10][7] Her father worked as trapeze artist, lion tamer, tightrope walker, and magician in a circus.[2][3][11][6][5][12] He discovered his daughter's ability to memorize numbers while teaching her a card trick when she was about three years old.[6][2][5] Her father left the circus and took her on road shows that displayed her ability at calculation.[2] She did this without any formal education.[6][3] At the age of six, she demonstrated her arithmetic abilities at the University of Mysore.[2][3]

In 1944, Devi moved to London with her father.[13][14]

Mental calculation

Devi travelled to several countries around the world demonstrating her arithmetic talents. She was on a tour of Europe throughout 1950 and was in New York City in 1976.[2] In 1988, she travelled to US to have her abilities studied by Arthur Jensen, a professor of educational psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. Jensen tested her performance at several tasks, including the calculation of large numbers. Examples of the problems presented to Devi included calculating the cube root of 61,629,875 and the seventh root of 170,859,375.[3][4] Jensen reported that Devi provided the solution to the above mentioned problems (395 and 15, respectively) before Jensen could copy them down in his notebook.[3][4] Jensen published his findings in the academic journal Intelligence in 1990.[3][4]

In 1977, at Southern Methodist University, she gave the 23rd root of a 201-digit number in 50 seconds.[6][4] Her answer 546,372,891 was confirmed by calculations done at the US Bureau of Standards by the UNIVAC 1101 computer, for which a special program had to be written to perform such a large calculation, which took a longer time than her to do the same.[15]

On 18 June 1980, she demonstrated the multiplication of two 13-digit numbers—7,686,369,774,870 × 2,465,099,745,779. These numbers were picked at random by the Department of Computing at Imperial College London. She correctly answered 18,947,668,177,995,426,462,773,730 in 28 seconds, which was the time taken by her to speak the answer.[2][3] This event was recorded in the 1982 Guinness Book of Records.[2][3] Writer Steven Smith commented, "the result is so far superior to anything previously reported that it can only be described as unbelievable."[15] Indira Gandhi once told Shakuntala, "Shakuntala, I have got many ambassadors all over the world, but you are a very special ambassador, as you can win many friends for India through your Mathematical and Quick Calculation Skills".[16]

Shakuntala Devi explained many of the methods she used to do mental calculations in her book Figuring: The Joy of Numbers, which is still in print.[17]

Book on homosexuality

In 1977, she wrote The World of Homosexuals, the first[8] study of homosexuality in India,[18] for which she was criticized. In the documentary For Straights Only'more closely to understand it.[19]

The book, considered "pioneering",[20] features interviews with two young Indian homosexual men, a male couple in Canada seeking legal marriage, a temple priest who explains his views on homosexuality, and a review of the existing literature on homosexuality.[21] It ends with a call for decriminalization of homosexuality, and "full and complete acceptance—not tolerance and sympathy".[20] The book, however, went mostly unnoticed at that time.[22]

Personal life

Devi returned to India in the mid-1960s and married Paritosh Banerji,[23] an officer of the Indian Administrative Service from Kolkata.[24] They divorced in 1979 due to personal problems.[24] In 1980, she contested the Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate for Mumbai South and for Medak in Andhra Pradesh (now in Telangana).[25] In Medak she stood against former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi,[26] saying she wanted to "defend the people of Medak from being fooled by Mrs. Gandhi";[27] she stood ninth, with 6,514 votes (1.47% of the votes).[28] Devi returned to Bangalore in the early 1980s.[24]

In addition to her work as a mental calculator, Devi was a notable astrologer and an author of several books, including cookbooks and novels.[2][5][12]

Death and legacy

In April 2013, Devi was admitted to a hospital in Bangalore with respiratory problems.[6] Over the following two weeks she suffered from heart and kidney complications.[6][2] She died in hospital on 21 April 2013.[6][2] She was 83 years old.[2][3] She is survived by her daughter, Anupama Banerjee.[3][12]

On 4 November 2013, Devi was honoured with a Google Doodle on what would have been her 84th birthday.[29]

A film on her life was announced in May 2019.[30][31] The eponymous film stars Vidya Balan in the lead role and features Sanya Malhotra, Amit Sadh, and Jisshu Sengupta. Produced by Sony Pictures Networks Productions, the film streamed worldwide on Amazon Prime Video on 31 July 2020.[32][33]

Selected works

  • Astrology for You (New Delhi: Orient, 2005). ISBN 978-81-222-0067-6
  • Book of Numbers (New Delhi: Orient, 2006). ISBN 978-81-222-0006-5
  • Figuring: The Joy of Numbers (New, ISBN 978-0-06-011069-7, OCLC 4228589
  • In the Wonderland of Numbers (New Delhi: Orient, 2006). ISBN 978-81-222-0399-8
  • Mathability: Awaken the Math Genius in Your Child (New Delhi: Orient, 2005). ISBN 978-81-222-0316-5
  • More Puzzles to Puzzle You (New Delhi: Orient, 2006). ISBN 978-81-222-0048-5
  • Perfect Murder (New Delhi: Orient, 1976), OCLC 3432320
  • Puzzles to Puzzle You (New Delhi: Orient, 2005). ISBN 978-81-222-0014-0
  • Super Memory: It Can Be Yours (New Delhi: Orient, 2011). ISBN 978-81-222-0507-7; (Sydney: New Holland, 2012). ISBN 978-1-74257-240-6, OCLC 781171515
  • The World of Homosexuals (Vikas Publishing House, 1977), ISBN 978-0706904789[18][34]

See also

References

  1. ^ The Hindu. 21 April 2013 http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/mathematical-genius-shakuntala-devi-no-more/article4640134.ece?homepage=true. Retrieved 9 July 2013. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Pandya, Haresh (21 April 2013). "Shakuntala Devi, 'Human Computer' Who Bested the Machines, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Obituary: Shakuntala Devi". The Telegraph. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e Jensen, Arthur R. (July–September 1990). "Speed of information processing in a calculating prodigy". Intelligence. 14 (3). University of California, Berkeley, United States: 259–274. doi:10.1016/0160-2896(90)90019-P. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d "Obituary: India's 'human computer' Shakuntala Devi". BBC News. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Shakuntala Devi strove to simplify maths for students". The Hindu. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  7. ^ a b {{cite news |title='Human computer' Shakuntala Devi dies in Bangalore |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/Human-computer-Shakuntala-Devi-dies-in-Bangalore/articleshow/19667587.cms |newspaper=Times of India |date=despite Devi achieving her world record on 18 June 1980 at Imperial College, London. Devi was a precocious child and she demonstrated her arithmetic abilities at the University of Mysore without any formal education.
  8. ^ a b c Subir K Kole (11 July 2007). "Globalizing queer? AIDS, homophobia and the politics of sexual identity in India". Globalization and Health. 3: 8. doi:10.1186/1744-8603-3-8. PMC 2018684. PMID 17623106.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link): "The first academic book on Indian homosexuals appeared in 1977 (The World of Homosexuals) written by Shakuntala Devi, the mathematics wiz kid who was internationally known as the human computer. This book saw homosexuality in a positive light and reviewed the socio-cultural and legal situation of homosexuality in India and contrasted that with the gay liberation movement then taking place in the USA."
  9. ^ Mubarak, Salva (13 May 2019). "Get to know Shakuntala Devi, the woman known as the 'human computer'". Vogue India. Mumbai, India: Dilshad Arora. Retrieved 2 August 2019. In 1970s, she wrote The World of Homosexuals, a book that went disappointingly unnoticed at that time, but gained popularity over the years for being one of the earliest studies of our society's understanding of homosexuality.
  10. ^ Closed access icon "Science: Numbers Game". Time. 14 July 1952. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  11. ^ IBTimes Staff Reporter (22 April 2013). "Math Genius and Guinness Record Holder Shakuntala Devi Passes Away at Age 83". International Business Times. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  12. ^ a b c Aditi Mishra; Siddarth Kumar Jain (22 April 2013). "She made learning maths as thrilling as magic". The Bangalore Mirror. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  13. ^ "Remembering Shakuntala Devi, India's 'human computer'". Mid Day. Mumbai, India. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  14. ^ Lohana, Avinash (29 January 2019). "Sanya Malhotra to play Vidya Balan's daughter in Shakuntala". Mumbai Mirror. Mumbai, India. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  15. ^ a b Smith, Steven Bradley (1983). The Great Mental Calculators: The Psychology, Methods, and Lives of Calculating Prodigies, Past and Present. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231056400.
  16. ^ "Numbers link us all together - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  17. ^ Devi, Shakuntala (March 2005). Figuring: The Joy Of Numbers. Orient Paperbacks. ISBN 978-81-222-0038-6.
  18. ^ a b Shakuntala Devi (1977). The World of Homosexuals. Vikas Publishing House. ISBN 9780706904789.
  19. ^ "R.I.P. Shakuntala Devi, math-evangelist and ally of the queer community". orinam. 21 April 2013.
  20. ^ a b Ruth Vanita; Saleem Kidwai, eds. (2008). Same-Sex Love in India: A Literary History. Penguin UK. ISBN 9788184759693.
  21. ^ Sherry Joseph (2005), Social Work Practice and Men Who Have Sex With Men, p. 64, ISBN 9780761933526
  22. ^ Subhash Chandra (March 2008). "Review of "The Construction of Queer Culture in India: Pioneers and Landmarks"". Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific (16).:

    For Garcia-Arroyo the beginning of the debate on homosexuality in the twentieth century is made with Shakuntala Devi's book The World of Homosexuals published in 1977. [...] Shakuntala Devi's (the famous mathematician) [sic] book appeared. This book went almost unnoticed, and did not contribute to queer discourse or movement. [...] The reason for this book not making its mark was because Shakuntala Devi was famous for her mathematical wizardry and nothing of substantial import in the field of homosexuality was expected from her. Another factor for the indifference meted out to the book could perhaps be a calculated silence because the cultural situation in India was inhospitable for an open and elaborate discussion on this issue.
  23. ^ DelhiNovember 6, India Today Web Desk New; November 6, 2019UPDATED:; Ist, 2019 16:47. "Shakuntala Devi's life changed after marrying a gay man: The human behind the human computer". India Today. Retrieved 21 July 2020. {{cite web}}: |first3= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ a b c "India's math wizard, Shakuntala Devi". Yahoo! India News. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  25. ^ The Election Archives, Volumes 65–70, Shiv Lal, 1982, pp. 111, 64, Two other prominent independents were film comedian I. S. Johar and the mathematician, Mrs Shakuntala Devi. I. S. Johar contested from Bombay south and New Delhi and Mrs Shakuntala Devi from Bombay south and Medak in Andhra Pradesh.
  26. ^ "Lesser Known Facts About Shakuntala Devi, The Human Calculator Whom Vidya Balan Is Essaying In Biopic". HerZindagi English. 16 September 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  27. ^ "Bombay's Women", Himmat Volume 16 Part 1, 1979, p. 10, "An amusing sidelight of the contest in Bombay is also provided by a woman – the mathematical genius Shakuntala Devi, who is standing as an independent from Bombay South. Mrs. Devi has also filed her nomination from Medak in Andhra Pradesh, where she is fighting Mrs Indira Gandhi. Despite her mathematical mind, Mrs. Devi, I am afraid, just does not add up. From her 17th floor Cuffe Parade flat she claims that she is "100 per cent" sure that she will win from both constituencies. She is standing as an independent because "parties don't want intelligent people in the party". To her being Prime Minister or President "is something like being a housekeeper". By entering the fray she wants to "deglamourise" politics. Politics should not be a full-time affair, she feels, and more like her should enter. Incidentally, she is known to have approached the Congress (I) for a ticket because, as she herself admits, she "had the impression that Mrs Gandhi alone would fight for democracy in the country". She changed her mind suddenly, she says, when Sanjay Gandhi was given a ticket to stand from Amethi in UP; "I realised that Mrs. Gandhi had fooled me the way she had so many people. I saw all sycophants surrounding her." So now Mrs. Devi wants to "defend the people of Medak from being fooled by Mrs. Gandhi".
  28. ^ Agarala Easwara Reddi (1985), Lok Sabha Elections, 1977 & 1980, in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu Academy of Political Science, p. 175, 9. Smt. Shakuntala Devi (Ind) (the well known mathematical prodigy) 6514 1.47 / 10. Sardar Jagat Singh (Ind) 1430 0.32
  29. ^ TNN (4 November 2013) "Shakuntala Devi's 84th birthday celebrated with a doodle". The Times of India. Retrieved on 4 November 2013.
  30. ^ "Vidya Balan to play Math genius Shakuntala Devi in her next film". The Hindu. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  31. ^ "Vidya Balan to play ace mathematician Shakuntala Devi in biopic". Scroll.in. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  32. ^ "Vidya Balan's Shakuntala Devi biopic to be released on Amazon Prime, actor 'thrilled to entertain you in unprecedented times'". Hindustan Times. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  33. ^ Arora, Akhil (15 May 2020). "Vidya Balan's Shakuntala Devi Out July 31 on Amazon Prime Video". NDTV Gadgets 360. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  34. ^ Jeffrey S. Siker (2006). Homosexuality and Religion. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 127. ISBN 9780313330889.: "In her 1977 book, mathematician Shakuntala Devi interviewed..."
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