Fantastic 4

While average teenagers, apart from going to school and inevitable tuitions hang out with friends, watch movies and party, these kids dispute mathematical theorems and surf the net for information on astronomy in their spare time.

For these talented teens, reaching out for the stars is just the first step, as they make a clean sweep at the International Astronomy Olympiad

While average teenagers, apart from going to school and inevitable tuitions hang out with friends, watch movies and party, these kids dispute mathematical theorems and surf the net for information on astronomy in their spare time. It is little wonder then that Abhishek Oswal of St Mary8217;s School, Sarthak Chandra of Bishop8217;s School, Aniruddha Bapat from Army Public School and Jayant Thatte of SP College returned as part of the best team at the International Astronomy Olympiad held in Trieste, Italy between October 13 and 20.

Aniruddha Bapat won a bronze while the other three won a silver medal each. Of the two students from other cities, Shantanu Agarwal of Patna bagged the lone gold while Nitish Kumar Singh of Mumbai took another silver.

The four from Pune reveal the hard work it took to get there. 8220;We were able to make it to the second round without much study,8221; says Thatte, who read Vedic History as part of his preparation, 8220;However, in the third round the competition got serious,8221; they add.

Around 6000 students in the age group of 14 to 17 years, across India, participated in the National Astronomy Olympiad of which only 10 per cent were selected for the National Camp held in Mumbai in May. 8220;For 20 days, 13 to 16 hours a day we were trained rigorously on Math, Physics and Astronomy. We solved puzzles and discussed theory,8221; enthuses 14-year-old Oswal.

Their proud parents have an equally major part to play in the honing of their skill 8212; from taking them for star gazing to providing endless cups of coffee through the night. 8220;We give them a lot of space to pursue their interests and don8217;t impose our ideas,8221; says Vandana Chandra, mother of Sarthak Chandra. 8220;The main part is to channelise their energy. A lot of planning is required as these subjects are not taught in school or extra classes and time management is important,8221; says Bina Oswal, mother of Abishek Oswal.

8220;The trip to Italy was fun,8221; says Bapat, adding, 8220;we saw beautiful castles, played basket ball and chess tournaments and went on an excursion to Venice.8221; Yet honestly the best part for these little scientists was infact the tests. 8220;We analysed real data from the Trieste observatory; the questions twisted and teased your mind for four hours at a time,8221; adds Chandra. The team interacted with students from 18 different countries and even sang a song from the film Lakshya for them.

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Each of them has a formidable list of achievements to their credit. Apart from amassing a hoard of scholarships Oswal, Bapat and Thatte have won medals at the Homi Bhabha Young Scientist competition. Bapat was also selected to attend the Physics Young Ambassadors Symposium at Taiwan in 2005, the World Year for Physics, while Chandra8217;s model, Verifying Euler8217;s Theorem drew the attention of none other than Dr APJ Abdul Kalam on his visit to Pune in 2006. That is not all; they are as passionate about their hobbies as they are about Astronomy. While Oswal plays the piano proficiently, Chandra enjoys football. Bapat is trained in Indian classical music and Thatte loves to draw and paint. Team India, it seems, is truly an all-rounder team!