What is 78X27?? asked my seven year-old cousin. Promptly, I took out my pen and began scribbling when she answered, ?2106?. I just stared at her and she rattled on answers for 94X92, 67X42 and so on. She attributed the fast calculations to the Vedic maths classes that she had enrolled for recently. Since I belong to a breed that suffers from arithmophobia (fear of numbers), I decided to check for resources on this ancient system. And I found www.vedicmaths.org , a site completely dedicated to this age-old but effective means of calculation.

The website is no great shakes when it comes to design but it serves the purpose. Vedic maths is supposed to have been re-discovered from the Vedas by Sri Bharati Krsna Teerthaji around 1918. According to his research, all mathematics is based on 16 sutras or word formulae. For example, ?vertically and crosswise? is one such formula that helps one in the multiplication of two digit numbers. There are seven tutorials that take you through some of the word formulae applications in the Vedic way.

For instance, to get the answer to 23X43, multiply the tens vertically (2X4=8), this is the first digit of the answer. Then add the cross multiplicands (2X3+4X3=18), that is your second digit, carry forward one to the first digit which now becomes 9 and lastly multiply the units vertically (3X3=9) so the answer is 989.

This website also provides links to other websites that simplify maths for you. A must visit is the Trachtenberg site (a political prisoner in Hitler?s concentration camp who devised arithmetic rules to avoid the use of pen and paper). Happy calculating!

Aparna Harish

aparna@abpmail.com