3-year-old Zeehyn charms his way into Malaysia Book of Records

 

Zeehyn with his MBR certificate for having identified 100 foreign countries’ flags and currencies in under 5 minutes. (Moganraj Villavan @ FMT Lifestyle)

PETALING JAYA: If you were shown a series of flags, would you be able to identify their respective countries?

Zeehyn Veerhan Charles can, and not just a handful, either: he was recently recognised by the Malaysia Book of Records (MBR) for having identified 100 flags of foreign nations – and their currencies – from memory in under five minutes.

If this wasn’t impressive enough, you might be surprised to learn that Zeehyn, who attained the record on Oct 9, is only three years old!

 

Asked how this talent was discovered, his proud mum Mitra Rajadurai told FMT Lifestyle that it all started when her husband had to go on a work trip to Spain earlier this year.

“We were explaining to him that Daddy had to go away for half a year, and he started asking a lot of questions: where is Spain? How far is it?” she recalled.

After showing Zeehyn the flag of Spain, the boy would ask to see it whenever the country was mentioned, intrigued by its colours.

His curiosity was further piqued when his father, Charles Ramendran SPR Subramaniam, explained that Europe is made up of many nations that use the Euro. “That’s when he began to pick up the idea of countries and currencies,” Charles noted.

Yet, as his parents laughingly shared, Zeehyn had already shown an interest in money previously, as evidenced by his tendency to ask “how many ringgit is that?” instead of “how much is that?”.

Beautiful family: Charles and Mitra could not be more proud of Zeehyn, but they also want him to simply enjoy his childhood. (Moganraj Villavan @ FMT Lifestyle)

When Charles came home in mid-July, they began introducing him to more flags. As with all kids his age, Zeehyn can’t sit still for too long, so the couple would spend about five minutes a day teaching him.

“We’d teach him three or four new countries and currencies each day, then another five minutes to recall what he had learnt prior,” Mitra explained. Thanks to this revision, he was able to retain information well.

Of course, Zeehyn did get confused at times when he came across similar-looking flags, such as those of Malaysia and the United States, Poland and Indonesia, or Tunisia and Turkey!

With all the effort their son had put in, the couple decided to approach MBR last month. “We thought, he has been looking at so many countries and currencies, why not document and formalise it?” Mitra said.

The family, that live in Kampar, Perak, thus set out to Kuala Lumpur for the assessment. “I remember asking Zeehyn during our journey if he was nervous, and he said no. He was just happy to go to a new place and see new things,” Mitra added.

MBR initially set the target for Zeehyn to identify 60 countries and 60 currencies in under five minutes. But much to everyone’s delight, he exceeded the benchmark with 100. Great job, Zeehyn!

Despite his talent, Zeehyn loves playing with toy cars and this starry tent. (Moganraj Villavan @ FMT Lifestyle)

As smart as he is, Zeehyn is just a child – and a happy one at that. This is proven during FMT Lifestyle’s visit when his parents opened their doors and the boy gleefully ran out with a charming smile that would melt anyone’s heart.

Not wanting to be left out during the conversation, the lad sat close by at the coffee table, playing with his toys, letting out excited shrieks every now and then.

As for their hopes for Zeehyn in the future, Mitra said she and her husband are happy to let him be a kid and enjoy his childhood to the fullest.

“We hope he will always find joy and happiness in his daily life and pursuits; that he possesses a strong moral compass and is able to contribute towards the betterment of the world,” she concluded. - FMT