Around the world in under five minutes: Dubai girl can name all nations in a flash

Dubai: A Dubai girl aged five has registered for entry into Guinness World Records for a record, after entering India Book of Records and Asia Book of Records, naming the 195 United Nations-recognised countries and their capitals in just four minutes and 23 seconds, her father said.

Praanvi Gupta, from the northern Indian city of Gurgaon, first took almost 45 days to memorise the names of all countries and their capitals from A to Z, her father Pramod Gupta said. Praanvi, a student of GEMS Modern Academy, Dubai, then managed to name them all in around 11 minutes, before eventually cutting down the time to four minutes and 23 seconds.

Any tough ones?

“The easy ones were those which we used to discuss with her on a day-to-day basis, such as UAE, India, Japan, China and Belgium. In terms of the tough ones, there weren’t any in particular, though countries starting with the letter ‘S’ took extra time to memorise as there are so many of them,” Gupta said.

“We have already registered her for Guinness. It is a new type of record, so we are very hopeful. It will take a couple more weeks for the final confirmation from Guinness to come through, as we submitted a standard application.”

Praanvi’s interest was sparked when she saw an eight-year-old girl on TV who could name all the 50 states of America. She wanted to learn the names of countries and capitals and her mum Priyanka compiled a list for her to memorise. In their spare time, Praanvi and her parents would also talk about world languages and cultures.

“As of now, Praanvi likes to learn whatever her school teaches her. She wants to do something for people in need when she grows up. She is very particular about animals and the environment,” Gupta said. Praanvi, who likes drawing, reading and yoga, also has set her sights on learning the names of all the 28 states of India and their capitals.