Sport is fun, science is nerdy, math is tough. That’s the stuff of legends on which I have been brought up on.

For 30 years now, this legend has stayed with me and in many ways I have nursed it – let it grow and insidiously seep into my pores. It’s only a year ago that I experienced a slight shift in the status quo.

Thanks to my work with a non-profit Akshara Foundation and Ganitha Kalika Andolana – a programme aimed at breaking barriers to math learning and making it more fun by using creative teaching aids. All this and much more, put together in a big white math box.

Something tells me that I can approach math differently by using this math box. That math can happen to anyone, anytime and at any age – including a chronic `I hate math’ person like me. A lot can happen if I re-visit the subject, using the big white math box…

I may actually be able to count sheep and sleep like a baby.

Make friends with nerds, see them in a positive light.

Have my Pi and eat it too.

Even cook my pie to perfection.

Great recipes always involve right measurements.

Become an actuary, insurance underwriter, stockbroker, an economist and not write this.

Increase my chances of finding the perfect partner. After all according to Hannah Fry, finding the right mate is nothing but mathematics of love.

Indulge in some form of exercise without getting sweaty. I am told doing math, stimulates and exercises the prefrontal cortex in one’s brain.

For once there will be no shades of grey…it’s all black or white, right or wrong. Not to forget 50 is just a number.

I can calculate the odds of quitting smoking.

I may finally think of making truce with math and bury the hatchet. High Five!

Wondering if all this can really be possible by using a big white math box?

Well, do not just take my word for it. Go find out more for yourself at www.akshara.org.in

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All the images used are for non commercial, social-good purpose. They are sourced from various online resources and can not be credited to Akshara Foundation.