No friends or rhymes for Little Man Akrit

No friends or rhymes for Little Man Akrit
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI, MARCH 25: Akrit Pran Jaswal is like no seven-year-old you know. When you ask him what he wants to do when he grows up, this is what he says: ‘‘I want to become a neurologist because the brain controls all the other parts of the body. I also want to find a cure for all forms of cancer such as haemofibroma as well as all types of leukaemia. So I want to study both neurology as well as oncology.’’

These words aren’t imaginary ramblings of a child still untouched by the real world. Akrit is a prodigy and says that he has studied human anatomy up till the postgraduate level. Akrit’s genius has come at a huge price. When he was two, his father, Kulwant Singh Jaswal, decided that he should be introduced to science. Says Jaswal,‘‘Even when we played with him or told him jokes, it would be in terms of science.’’

Five years ago, Jaswal took his son to Himachal Pradesh. It was to isolate Akrit so that he could concentrate on his studies, the father says. He went on to set up a laboratory for Akrit for his practical work. Moreover, the father would get permission from various medical institutes (including AIIMS) for Akrit to watch surgeons operate. Ask Akrit and he says he says he has had a perfectly normal childhood. ‘‘Like other normal children’’, he says he watches a lot of television, plays video games, volleyball, hockey and badminton. His favourite cartoon is Dexter’s Lab and he loves Hrithik Roshan.

But Akrit does not have friends. He has never been to school and has never been taught any nursery rhymes. Akrit says that nursery rhymes don’t concern him. The one thing he doesn’t like being asked about is his childhood.

Jaswal is evasive when asked about his son’s schooling and childhood. ‘‘Akrit is of extraordinary calibre. I thought it right to not let him mix with other children his age. As far as his schooling is concerned, I can’t force my child to do something against his wish. Not sending children to school is becoming an increasing phenomenon in Europe and America, given the rising violence. My wife and I have been teaching him at home, we don’t think degrees and certificates are essential,’’ says Jaswal.

Akrit also claims to have discovered a herb that can cure osteo-arthiritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Although father and son refuse to divulge the name of the herb before Akrit has completely established its efficacy, the seven-year-old does reveal that the herb has a composition of calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate.

Dr Vishwajeet Rohil, visiting professor in Medicine at the Maulana Azad Medical College, attests Akrit’s exceptional knowledge. ‘‘He could not have studied all that he knows by just studying for an hour every day for the past 11 months, as he claims. The knowledge he has is equivalent to that of 11 years. Besides, most of what he has studied is from books and by rote. He needs to study in a systematic manner. Personally, I feel the parental pressure put on the child is tremendous,’’ says Rohil.

Jaswal holds a doctorate in Economics while his wife is an English teacher. When asked about the choice he made for his son, he says: ‘‘Medicine is something I wanted to study myself but never could. Even before I was married, I knew I wanted my child to study medicine.’’ Akrit’s parents will be taking him to the US next month to study at the Ambassador University in Texas as ‘‘studying in India will not be feasible for Akrit’’. Jaswal has sold all his property to fund the trip.