Abby's great memorization and pronunciation skills were clearly evident by age 2, when during the presidential campaign of 2000, she surprised her parents, Amy and Mark, by quickly recognizing televised polictical figures. Mark explains, "After the election, once she knew the names of the President, Vice President, Secretary of State, and the National Security Advisor, it became very natural to just keep going."

At age 3, Abby mastered the names of the past 42 US Presidents as well as the current President and First Lady, their two daughters, and family pets. She knows the name of the presidential airplane, helicopter, cabinet members, Speaker of the House, Senate and House Majority and Minority Leaders, Surgeon General, Director of the FBI and the CIA. "We really were just doing it for fun and as a way to occupy her and keep her thinking," explains Amy.

One morning while at a local bed and breakfast with her parents, Abby met Political Science Professor Dr. John Settich who teaches the Introduction to American Government course at Benedictine College. "One thing lead to another," Mark explains, "and the following Monday morning Abby visited his class and answered about 38 questions posed by students. She only needed help with one: How many bills are comprised in the US Bill of Rights?"

Abby was made an Honorary College Freshman for the day and given a Freshman beanie. The event was photographed and reported in the local newspaper. It caught the attention of Atchison's KAIR radio, which then showcased Abby on its morning show.

At age 3, Mayalee decided she wanted to learn to play the piano. She takes a one-hour lesson 5 days a week which she loves.

At age 5, she planned and held her first solo recital and personally announced each of her 10 songs.

Now at age 6, Mayalee reads at 12th grade level. Within a year, she completed K-5.75 in the EPGY program through Stanford University. Some of her favorite classes were French and Chemistry. She's beginning the Nebraska High School Correspondence course in September, so she will be able to continue on to college courses as she is ready.

Before age 2, Arjun recognized and name pictures of all the US presidents, named and located all the US states and their capitals on a map and globe, and most countries and their flags. He could recite and recognize 80 symbols of elements from the periodic table (an arrangements of chemical elements according to their atomic number).

Saroja worked with him in small time increments, teaching five presidents or five countries during ten-minute sessions, rarely totaling one hour each day. Arjun typically learned each new item after being told only once. He needed no reward as an incentive, though he did look forward to being applauded for each correct answer.

At 17 months old, Arjun frequently sang nursery rhymes. At a hotel lobby he raced toward a grand piano, seated himself at the keyboard and surprized his parents by placing a tune.

At age 2, Arjun could read newspaper and magazine headlines and Dr. Seuss books. He learned the Hindi, Tamil, and Urdu alphabet, and to read words in those languages. He could subtract, add and multiply two, three-digit numbers, and divide. He memorized multiplication tables up to 12 x 12 (one table per day) by listening to a cassette. His father taught him to find the square and square roots within those tables and to recite the powers up to 10 of numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10.

At age 3, Arjun gave his first piano recital which was held at the Old Bridge Public Library in New Jersey, before an audience of 35 people including newspaper reporters. Arjun's 20-minute repertoire consisted of 21 songs performed under the watchful eye of his instructor, Antonio Gandia. Although Arjun is able to read music, his selections were played from memory and included: Yankee Doodle, This Land Is Your Land, When the Saints Go Marching In, and Take Me Out to the Ball Game. He was encouraged by the applause and, while performing, would turn around to scan the audience for an approving nod.

Mr. Gandia remarked, "He played a little faster than I expected...As a music teacher, every now and then I see children whose talent, abilities, and dedication to music will raise the bar of what I feel I can expect and demand of my students. Arjun has gone and continues to go beyond that point. He completely changed my perception of how young a child can begin and excel on his or her music studies. Arjun is a musical prodigy. At the tender age of three, he was more proficient on the piano than many of my eight-year-old students. He was writing his own compositions and devouring piano books, accomplishing in weeks what normally takes other students months, even years. Arjun has a natural instinct for music. He does not merely play the notes, he actually transmits such tremendous energy and, dare I say passion and emotion, that it is hard to believe he is so young. I imagine this is similar to what Mozart must have been like. Arjun is a rare phenomenon. To me, he is like a comet, which you can only witness every hundred years or so, with a light so bright that it makes all the other stars in the sky pale in comparison. I certainly never had a student like Arjun before, and I seriously doubt that I will ever again. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to know Arjun and to guide his musical progress. If he keeps progressing this way, one day he will become a world-class pianist and composer." Mr. Gandia advised Arjun to audition for a class with Dr. Ray Landers, a world renowed piano teacher in the Suzuki method. Arjun auditioned and was accepted in May 2002.