Knowledge
Vedic Maths jumps out of ancient texts to your computer screen
Gaurav Tekriwal’s passion for maths and making students fall in love with it has led him to an incredible journey. One that started with coaching students and has got him to a stage where his company is present in 7 countries through the online coaching model.
How often do we hear parents sharing the common gripe about their children not scoring well in maths or even students themselves admitting that they find mathematics a tough nut to crack. In the land that invented the numeral 0 it is indeed a sad state of affairs. All this may change soon with a new startup which is bringing the ancient science of vedic mathematics to a computer screen near you.
“It all started with a dream to introduce something new to students and make a positive difference in society.” Says founder Gaurav Tekriwal who started coaching students in Vedic Mathematics from 2001. Through humble beginnings in Kolkatta, the only thing that kept him going was the universal mission of making students love Maths.
Though Gaurav was introduced to Maths in 1999 when he was preparing for his Common Admission Test (CAT) to get into a Business School, he didn’t eventually go to one. Instead he started training his friends and other students into the concepts of Vedic Mathematics. After few years of continuously teaching at schools and coaching to students, he decided that it was time to convert his passion into a profession.
In fact, Gaurav has had the honour of being mentored by Shakuntala Devi – India’s Maths Ambassador. Soon after, he started getting invitations for workshops and seminars from India and his first International invitation came in 2009 from Dubai, UAE to teach at the Delhi Public School, Sharjah. By that time Gaurav had launched the DVD’s on his website www.vedicmathsindia.org and also started the Vedic Maths Forum India Blog.
In 2007 Gaurav was introduced to WizIQ.com which was a provider of the Virtual Classroom Platform and since Gaurav used to get many inquiries from abroad, the virtual classroom became the perfect tool to conduct classes online. A partnership was formed which served both parties as Gaurav could reach out to clients abroad and WizIQ could get traction.
Gaurav formally registered the company Vedic Maths Forum Pvt Ltd in 2008 after taking an expensive office space. 2011- 2012 was a watershed year when he got to speak at TED Bangalore and New York. He was also approached by TATA SKY and Reliance BIG TV in Mumbai to do a show for their VAS (Value Added Service).
The Focus of the company was transforming into an Online Tutoring Company in Maths Education. In 2012- 2013 the company adopted the franchise route of expanding. Under this route, all the academics will be provided by the company while the franchisee would be free to do all the marketing. The idea clicked and vedicmathsindia.org is present in over 7 countries and expanding every day.Currently, Vedic Maths is offered as a core program bundled with Regular School Maths Tutoring. Together it is an irresistible combination and has seen this students enrolling in larger numbers.
Since 2001, the Vedic Maths Forum India has taught and spread the concept to over 4 million student exposures worldwide. It has expanded its gamut to serve schools and universities, corporate, societies and community centers through its programs to help them achieve academic excellence in mathematics.
It is start-ups like these that not only help us retain our heritage but also fill a crying need in our society.