Abacist Vaishnavi Ballal to Foray into International Scene

Pics by Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SB)

Mangalore, Jul 24: Vaishnavi Ballal, a std VII student has emerged winner in the grand level at national  UCAMUS Abacus and Mental Competition 2010 held recently. This win has made her eligible for participation in the international level competition to be held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on November 28 this year.

For Vaishnavi the victory not only has opened doors to international arena, but has also made her the first ever person from Dakshina Kannada district to score an ace in the Grand level national competition. She was awarded the prize in Chennai by the counsel General of Malaysia Anaur Bin Kasam recently. Further, impressed by her excellent performance, UCMAS, India has sponsored her participation at the international level competition in Malaysia.

Vaishnavi, a student of Sharada Vidyalaya is the only child of Dr Rajesh Ballal, professor and head of the department of surgery, Justice K S Hegde Medical Academy and Vasundhara Ballal, an artist.  She is also the grand daughter of Dr C R Ballal. Vaishnavi is under the tutelage of K Vinayak Prabhu of Fast Arithmetic, who she met during a Rotary meeting four years ago. It was a demonstration of Abacus by a boy at the meeting that inspired her to join the fascinating world of Abacus.

She is a former state champion and a national level runner-up of the same competition. "I guess my counting was too fast due to excitement that marred my accuracy. This time around I was very happy to work on it and emerge winner with the highest ever score in the last 10 editions of this competition. It feels great to win, but hard to express," she says, and adds, "Abacus has improved my grasping power and skills in Mathematics and I plan to continue it lifelong."

Multi-faceted Talent

Vaishnavi is not only a proficient abacist, but a keen singer and dancer, being trained in Carnatic classical music and Bharatanatyam for over six years now. She had a successful Rangapravesha about three months ago. Her multi-faceted personality is expressed by the fact that she is also a drummer with four-year training to boost her. She also paints, skates and is proficient in extempore, elocution and essay writing. However, these extra-curricular activities have only made her vibrant. She excels in academics too, being a topper in school throughout.