Shakuntala Devi was born in 1939 in Bangalore, Karnataka. Manifested with an extraordinary love for numbers at the age of 3, she became an expert in complex mental arithmetic at the age of five.
  
She is generally known as a 'Human Computer' because of her extraordinary talents in solving complex mathematical problems without any mechanical aid.

She has found her place in the Guinness Book of Records as a result of her extraordinary talents. Nowadays, apart from solving mathematical problems, she is utilising her amazing talent in the field of astrology.
    
In 1980, Devi set a world record by multiplying two 13-digit numbers in 28 seconds. In 1977, she was able to by find the 23rd root of 201-digit number in only 50 seconds. A computer working at the same time as Devi took 62 seconds to calculate the answer.
 
Devi is the author of 14 books, including the most recent, "Awaken the Genius in Your Child". She has written on a variety of subjects and her published work includes books for children and a crime novel, Perfect Murder.
 
She loves writing and has written short stories for children. She has penned books on cooking. Most of her books deal with problems and shortcuts in mathematics. She also holds mathematical workshops for children in Hyderabad.
 
She is a voracious reader and says that reading keeps her in tune with what's happening with the world.