Zero-ing down on Brahmagupta

Shivani Bhakoo
While it was an attempt to properly utilise the lockdown period, it bore fruit for Manya Oswal, a student of class XI of The International School, Bengaluru. Manya has won an award by Hertford College, University of Oxford, for making a two-minute video on the unsung heroes of science.

This competition celebrates the unsung heroes of science each year where students from all over the world participate.

An elated Manya, belonging to a reputed business family in Ludhiana, shares, “I love science to the core and couldn’t wait to dive deep and research about the possible science geniuses, who were never recognised. With all the great options, the one that was a clear winner for me was my unsung hero Brahmagupta—the greatest mathematicians ever born”.

It took Manya a month to research, sketch an outline, write a script and then put the whole video together with her voiceover, but it was all worthwhile for she got short-listed among the top 24 finalists and the only Indian in the competition.

Talking about the “unsung hero”, Manya shared that among his many great achievements, what struck her was his discovery of nothing, or zero. “This 0 is used throughout the world for classroom mathematics to rocket launches, but unfortunately, no one really knows who is behind this incredible finding. His work not only supports the foundation of mathematics, but also serves as the groundwork for physics, astronomy, economics and architecture. Brahmagupta managed to find out the exact time of eclipses, the value of pi, and gravity, all without any apparatus or concepts of speed and acceleration! With such breakthroughs, I strongly feel Brahmagupta deserves more recognition,” said Manya.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.