Aadi Swaroopa - An Incredible Visual Memory Artist

Imagine a baby one and half years old reading advertisement hangings in a shop. It is strange but real. That baby was none other than Aadi Swaroopa. Aadi could write about 30 pages when she was two and half years old. She could read and write in English and Kannada. She got a golden opportunity to travel across Karnataka at a very young age to conduct shows on memory like Trayodhashavadhana and various other talent shows at more than 1600 centers across the state during the Educational awareness programme Jatha conducted by Swaroopa Research Centre, Mangalore.

Though Aadi never received a formal education, she appeared for the SSLC examination with self-study. During her study, she adapted ten memory techniques which are the findings of Swaroopa Adhyayana Kendra, run by her parents Gopadkar and Sumadkar. From a young age, she observed the students at Swaroopa doing visual memory arts for their notes. Naturally, she developed an interest in this art and applied it to her subjects creatively. This artwork developed her memory and also worked as an avenue for joy and relaxation.

She is now preparing to train SSLC students, this method of study and remembering the content joyfully and score the highest marks easily. She is also gearing up to set ten world records that are related to the SSLC syllabus. The intention is not to set a record for the sake of the record but rather prove that studying SSLC need not be a burden for the students. They can complete the course in a month with this technique and develop talents.

Aadi has been a role model in Swaroopa education. She is an ambidextrous and a performer of Yakshagana, a folk form of art, beatboxing, mimicry, music, guitar, and keyboard. She is learning Hindustani music and various other art forms and released a collection of stories when she was ten years old. She also conducted a solo exhibition of 40 paintings which were the illustrations she drew for her stories.

When asked how she manages her time, Aadi says, “I enjoy my study. I multitask and engage myself in more than four activities at a time. It has triggered my right brain activities – creativity – and also boosted my self-confidence to a greater extent. I can visualize the subject, could be a phone number or curriculum notes. For me, everything is the same.”

By setting records Aadi wants to influence and motivate students, to go beyond their textbooks, think out of the box, and contribute towards nation-building.