By. Richie Lasrado (Daijiworld) He is indeed the Boy Wonder. When he was just six months old, his parents started reading to him. He used to read the newspapers which were given to him to play. He learnt all the English alphabets on a single day when he was just one-year four months old. He could also recognize all the countries on the map. Swaroop was awarded the Child of the Fortnight when he was just 2 years, by NNS (News 'N Stuff). He was an inquisitive child who behaved his age displaying a rare combination of imagination and reasoning. He understood mathematical symbols, had a vocabulary of more than 1500 words and could read more than 75 words. He could also identify currencies. Hailing from Uppinangady, Mohammad is the son of Rafeeq and Athika. He is now a student of the Beary Public School. For the sake of their son's education in Mangalore, the parents have settled down in the city. Rafeeq now serves as a resource person for primary school teachers.
When he was two years four months, Swaroop was gifted his first computer by Dr D Veerendra Heggade. Since then he has mastered the art of drawing, slide-making and e-mailing. Within two months of getting the computer, he could explain everything from the switch to opening a file, preserving a file, internet, website, software, UPS etc. His father taught him computer basics with help from institutions in Puttur and Mangalore. At the age of two years six months, he could operate on the windows software like a professional. He could send e-mails, work on Microsoft word, Excel and paint without any assistance. He could log on to the internet and open the cyber world in no time. Once during a demonstration in the presence of Veerappa Moily, Swaroop gave the former CM an informal class on how the microphone works. When Swaroop asked Moily who is the best teacher, and when the latter answered Swaroop was the best teacher, Swaroop said No ! Experience is the best teacher. In January 2002, when Swaroop was four years old, he was felicitated on the occasion of Republic Day, by the then Karnataka governor, V S Ramadevi. His father made him develop an interest in nature and science. At a very early age, Swaroop had read over 100 books and was capable of answering over 10,000 questions. He knew acronyms as well as their expansions, could sing English and Hindi rhymes, knew the basic operations in Maths. He plays with his friends, sings, reads and is eager to learn. He can identify parts of the body, vehicles, animals, parts of the tree and its functions, geographical locations. Swaroop likes English language which according to him, is an international language and also confusing. He says the best religion is love. If given a camera, Swaroop explains what is a lens or a flash. He knows about gravity, Newton, the different nations, their capitals, states of India, video camera, human anatomy, animals and birds. He is also knowledgeable about Antarctica, Einstein and Dr Shivaram Karanth. He knows about the gears and engine in a car. He prefers villages to cities as there is no pollution and there is uncontaminated water. At an age when most kids could not even say environment, Swaroop thought that pollution was the main problem afflicting the world. Questions on the speed of light and on CFC and its ill-effects dont unnerve him. He answers with confidence when asked the expansions of acronyms like UNO, WHO and ISRO. He can recognize world leaders, national flags and has knowledge about mechanical equipment and their usage. __________________________________ Discover Yahoo! Have fun online with music videos, cool games, IM and more. Check it out! http://discover.yahoo.com/online.html