When teachers of Mutahir Jeelani told his parents that he is good at mathematics, his father involved him in arithmetic of everyday life to keep him in touch with it even when he was not holding books.
“When my teacher told my dad about this, he used to ask me questions with weird numbers like if you make 3.26 runs, what will be your score or if you get 3.67 rupees, how much money do you have etc.,” Mutahir said,
His father involved him in athematic activities when he used to be in the playground or having dinner which Mutahir believes helps him a lot in getting hold of the subject which most of the students are scared of, Mathematics.
Mutahir Jeelani of class 10th from Delhi Public School, Srinagar is known by the nickname Pythagoras among students and teachers in the school.
He said that he was good at mathematics since he was 4 years old. “I was good with the basic concepts of the subject. With time, I found a very good teacher who taught me high level math. In 8th class, he taught me mathematics of 11th class,” he said.
He said that the subject is just like any other but one needs to have an understanding of the basic concepts which most of the students take for granted.
From last year, he started to look for Olympiads and entrance examinations to participate in. One of the Math Olympiad, pre-Regional Mathematical Olympiad (PRMO). As said by Mutahir, the national level exam is about the subject which has questions related to real life to test the basic concepts of a candidate. This year, he will be participating in National Talent Search Examination (NTSC), a scholarship exam for the 10th graders to encourage higher studies in the field of Science and Social science.
There is a Maths club in the school where different creative activities are done.
“In the club, you can be as creative as you want. We made a digital clinometer to measure the height of the building in a few seconds and various activities are done there.”
He said that the number of students in the group is comparatively less as compared to other clubs but he along with his teacher has been actively encouraging students to take up maths.
“We got 30 students in the first tier which I believe is a good number but I would want students to take up this subject. The subject is all about basics. I have seen students who were maths phobic but once their basics are cleared, they fall in love with it,” he said.
Along with his school teacher, he also consults YouTube tutorials to learn Maths.
“I have completed 11th class maths and half of the 12th class’s. I study a lot of maths and since covid pandemic, I have been playing a lot of chess which I believe somehow helps me in the subject,” he said.
He further said that in future, he wants to go for computer science.“I am good at computers too. I have designed a number of websites and a lot of different calculators with the help of various programs,” he said.
