Indian mathematics was born out of practical needs of the society

Mathematics may sound problematic for many but Vedic Math (VM) and Ancient Indian Mathematics (AIM) scholar and teacher Vinay Nair finds maths a fascinating subject which is very purposeful in day-to-day life besides overcoming challenges of modern day competitive exams.

Vinay has been conducting AIM and VM classes for the last five years and has attended many national seminars and conferences besides presenting papers on Maths at an international conference. He has designed the world's first online VM course for Chinmaya Mission and also runs the Mumbai-based School of Vedic Maths. Here, he demystifies maths as a subject for students and brings out rich facets of both AIM and VM.

How did you develop an interest in Maths?
When in school, I liked maths, especially VM written by Bharati Krishna Thirtha (Sankaracharya of Puri Math) from Tamil Nadu. My mom used to teach me maths from this book. It is an important source for maths. My other inspiration was my maths teacher from Palakkad P P Raman - a teacher who taught us how to think. With his unique style of teaching he could bring out the best in any of his students.

Why is VM considered to be unique? 
The topics mainly deal with maths and algebra in VM and can be taught to students from sixth standard up to the post-graduation level. It is a different way of doing the same calculations faster than the conventional method. VM is built on 16 sutras - the procedure to calculate is given in the sutras, mainly they are like 'aphorisms'. VM lays stress on techniques.

Would you say maths is vital for students pursuing any career? 
Every competitive exams has maths questions, it is directly related to IQ level. A person thinks logically with maths. It covers a wide gamut of things from calculation to costing. Actually it is the only subject which involves every person's day to day life as well; a lay person does not understand that. However, in schools this subject is taught to tackle the exams. They do not give a thrust to resolve situational needs.

How do you differentiate VM with AIM? Is AIM equally significant for students from the Indian point of view?
AIM is different from VM, which is based on the sutras born out of intuitive revelations. Aryabhatta, Bhaskara and Mahavira pioneered AIM and it was a tool for solving problems of other science (astronomy, civil engineering) and day-to-day problems. In India, Maths was born out of practical needs of the society and hence it is applied mathematics. Learning of AIM is extremely relevant and interesting for students. After knowing the potential of AIM, I have shifted my focus of teaching as it covers wider areas of maths, which is also full of concepts.
 
India's contribution to maths was immense yet our educational system has scared students from taking up this subject.
We have a rich legacy of knowledge but right from the inception of our freedom, we have not evolved our own teaching methods, so maths cannot be looked at in isolation. In fact, nobody was aware till recently that there was a school of Mathematics in Kerala which followed Aryabhatta tradition and scholar Madhava was said to be the founder of calculus.
Presently, in India we are learning western maths. There is nothing wrong in that but the fact remains that India was the birth place of maths. Ancient Arab and Chinese scholars learned maths from India and European learned it from the Arabs. It was ancient Indian scholars who slogged on all the problems of maths and found the solution. Greece was another country where maths evolved but they could not conceive zero and infinity. They were stuck with geometry and could not think Algebra. Indian mathematicians discovered zero and infinity due to our strong philosophy and knowledge of Vedas which talked about completeness. In western maths, scholars like Leibniz, Euler and Bache also worked on several concepts. However, the foundation of maths was given by India.

Do you think Indian education has moved away from maths?
Day-to-day activities and practical life styles can sharpen maths skills but students are avoiding that. Nobody now remembers numbers, they all use digital and electronic aids including mobiles. Maths learning peaked in India because our learning was based on the questioning and thinking abilities. Now we are provided with readymade concepts and children are trained only to remember this. The method to understand a formula should be out of reasoning and not by any other way.

Have you initiated any new training program to encourage maths among students? 
We had a recent camp on maths, based on the classic text Leelavati of Bhaskara, one of the most celebrated books on maths. We are also encouraging research on maths at schools, besides our training programme 'Raising A Mathematician' (RAM), which was held jointly by Raising A Mathematician Foundation and Uttan Vividh Lakshyee Shikshan Sanstha recently, with a view to popularise and encourage research, and taking maths to maximum number of people in the country.