7-Years Old Wonder.......

Pondy Girl Can Name Medicines For 1,000 Ailments

Bosco Dominique | TNN

Puducherry: While other children her age pore over comics, sevenyear-old Bakkiashri Baskar reads tomes on anatomy, pharmacology and ophthalmology.
Ask this Std III student about managing haemorrhage while performing open heart surgery, and she can tell you the correct medication in a trice. Bakkiashri, who has an impeccable memory and knows the right medicine for over 1,000 ailments right from a headache to dreaded diseases aspires to become the world’s youngest doctor. A host of doctors in Puducherry, who tested her skills, were spellbound and some have given written testimony to her talent.
“It was little difficult to read the books in the beginning, but it turned out to be fun. I really love to read medical books and magazines,” says Bakkiashri, who has never been to a cinema theatre. She doesn’t watch television either. Her father M Baskar, a graduate in zoology, plans to approach medical institutions that are willing to relax the age limit for Bakkiashri to sit for examinations to obtain a degree in medicine. It all began last year, when Baskar realised that his daughter has a good memory and started questioning her about what she wanted to be when she grew up. “She said she wanted to become a doctor and find a permanent cure for cancer. She requested me to buy books so that she could begin her studies,” says Baskar, who spent almost Rs 40,000 on books and within a year, the child prodigy started memorising ailments and their medication.

CHILD PRODIGY: Std III student Bakkiashri with father M Baskar in Puducherry. Bakkiashri has an impeccable memory and aspires to become the world’s youngest doctor.