The Human-Computer, Shakuntala Devi, has been in the news of late because of the Vidya Balan starrer film based on the mathematician. However, Shakuntala Devi has always been a special ambassador of India, as Indira Gandhi once told.
Because of her capabilities of outperforming a computer, Shakuntala Devi traveled all around the world spreading the awe of her knowledge as well as increasing the pride of India. However, wherever she went, her heart belonged to her home town, Bengaluru which was then called Bangalore. Shakuntala Devi’s daughter, Anupama Banerji spoke to the Times of India and said,
“However busy she was, mummy always made it a point to visit Bengaluru and she would take a tour of the city as it was her playground. She took immense pride in being a Bangalorean.”
She also said that Shakuntala Devi was very fond of Vidyarthi Bhavan and would often visit the place to eat idlis and dosas. Her love for idlis and dosas made her host an idli dosa party in their London home.
The Time When She Stumped A Shop Keeper
Bengaluru historian, Vemagal Somashekar revealed a fascinating tale of when Shakuntala Devi visited one of the shops in Gandhi Bazaar, her favorite shopping place in the city. He said,
“There was a famous story those days about Shakuntala Devi visiting a shop in Gandhi Bazaar. She made a huge purchase and the man billing the goods pulled out a calculator and started counting. This infuriated her and she asked him to put it away and spelled out the total bill amount within seconds. The episode was much talked about those days in the Basavangudi area.”
The biopic of Shakuntala Devi starring Vidya Balan and Sanya Malhotra directed by Anu Menon has been receiving good reviews ever since its release on the OTT platform.
Source: Times of India
