This 5-year-old in Dubai can name all countries, their capitals in less than 5 minutes

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Dubai - Praanvi Gupta has found a place in the India Book of Records as well as the Asia Book of Records, and is vying for a spot in the Guinness World Records.

By Saman Haziq

Published: Mon 9 Nov 2020, 7:36 PM

Last updated: Mon 9 Nov 2020, 7:54 PM

It takes just four minutes and 23 seconds for this Dubai-based five-year-old to list the 195 UN-recognised countries and their capitals.

Praanvi Gupta has found a place in the India Book of Records as well as the Asia Book of Records, and is vying for a spot in the Guinness World Records.

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A student of Gems Modern Academy in Dubai, Praanvi’s room walls are plastered with world maps. Globes and maps feature heavily in her toy box.

Her father Pramod Gupta said: “It all started almost a year back when Praanvi watched a TV show where she saw the video of an eight-year-old girl naming all the states of the USA.”

When she expressed desire to learn the names of countries and their capitals, her mother Priyanka grabbed the opportunity to teach her something new. She made a list in the alphabetical order and tasked little Praanvi with memorising it.

The proud father said: “After nearly one-and-a-half months, Praanvi managed to memorise the names of all countries and their capitals from A to Z. We then decided to work on her speed. Initially, it took her around 11 minutes, but with practice, she gradually came down to four minutes and 23 seconds. I am glad her hard work paid off and she won several awards and medals.”

#StayHome helped hone skills

Making use of the stay at home time during the pandemic, Pramod said the family discussed the countries, their languages and cultures.

“My wife got some puzzles, story books and notebooks and we would sit together as a family talk about different things like Covid awareness measures; read stories; solve puzzles and identify countries on maps. This encouraged Praanvi to learn more and she launched her YouTube channel with different videos for kids. Some videos are about precautionary measures to stay safe from Covid, others show her independently making a 300-piece complicated puzzle; giving tips to keep the Earth green; and even showing some yoga moves she learned from her mother,” Pramod said.

Praanvi has now embarked on her next mission: Learn the states in India and their capitals. “She is also learning to identify flag colours of global countries,” the father added.

saman@khaleejtimes.com