by Keerthi Mohan
AN ASIAN schoolgirl has revealed that she was excited when it was revealed she has
been offered to join the Mensa club, a community of more than 20,000 people with a high
IQ.
Nandhana Prakash Simi, a Year 10 student at Plashet School in east London, said she
thought that her mother was pulling a prank when she revealed her score.
Nandhana told Eastern Eye: “When I came back from school, my mum was talking to my uncle, Sujith. She hugged me and told me that I got selected in the Mensa community.
“I was so excited and could not believe it because I thought she was teasing me. I was so
happy to see the score and the offer of a chance to join the Mensa club.”
She will now be able to interact with others of high IQ through the many events and
meetings the society organises.
The London schoolgirl said that it was her idea to take the test after hearing about it from
her mother, Simi, who is originally from the south Indian state of Kerala.
Although Simi and her husband, Prakash, were aware that Nandhana was a gifted child, the score surprised them as well because she scored 142, despite not preparing “ade-
quately” for it.
“It was the first time I was taking this test,” said Nandhana. “I completed the verbal reasoning section earlier than I expected, but found the verbal reasoning section quite challenging.”
Besides academics, Nandhana loves to play instruments, especially the piano, which she
has been practising since the age of six. Painting is yet another passion.
“Picasso’s paintings have inspired me a lot,” she said.
