Some people are born with exceptional abilities while others acquire these aptitudes along the way.
The prodigious son of a pharmacist turned postmaster father and an exceptionally creative mother, Sushilabai, Vinayak Naik, however, lays no claims to being a prodigy in the strictest sense of the term.
But unlike many others who have catapulted to fame on the strength of their extraordinary talent, he continues to lead an ordinary and contented life, well-assured that he has nurtured a rare talent which allows him to imbibe and assimilate facts and figures which are his to be recalled and recited at any given second to a wonderstruck audience.
As a journalist of repute, Vinayak’s unassuming demeanour belies his stupendous exploits in the field. He has been conferred with practically every award a journalist in the state could aspire for.
Credited with having interviewed over 400-hundred plus celebrated public figures, including several Chief Ministers and Governors of Goa, he claims to hold the rare distinction of having done eight major interviews with the late Manohar Parrikar alone for ‘Goa Today’. The Editor-in-Chief of ‘Goa Today’, Vinayak Purxottam Naik is indeed a versatile and multifaceted personality!
Although a journalist by profession, he has also dabbled as a part-time teacher. Vinayak Naik has lectured at Sidddharth College of Mass Communications (Bombay) from 1982 to 1985. He has also taught Public Speaking and Effective English for Graduates at S M Lal Institute in
Malad (Bombay).
In Goa, he taught journalism at Local Self Government Institute, Mushthifund Institute of Mass Communication and Dhempe College at Panjim. But it is his long stint with ‘Goa Today’ that he so fondly refers to every time one manages to have a tete-a-tete with him.
Beginning as an Executive Editor with Goa Today in 1994 to the Managing Editor in 1998, Vinayak Naik is today the Editor-in-Chief of the publication. Just as much as his journalistic endeavours, it is his unbelievable knack of remembering a long list of facts and figures that has earned him the moniker of ‘King of Memory’.
Having memorised the entire Gregorian calendar, he can mentally work out, in a few seconds, what day it was, or will be, right from the inception of the Gregorian calendar in 1582 till the end of the 10th millennium.
He can also recall, in a serial order, all the cover stories carried by ‘Goa Today’ right from September 1985 till today. Not only that, he remembers, sequentially, all the villages covered by the magazine from 1988 to the latest issue.
As a cricketing enthusiast, Vinayak Naik can recall all the 100 centuries scored by Sachin Tendulkar in international cricket, 51 of them in Test cricket and 49 in ODI cricket. Recently he memorised, in flat fifteen minutes, the entire IPL 2023 schedule involving ten teams and seventy four matches.
His flair for memorising phone numbers is unmatched. He claims to have committed to memory over 2000 mobile phone numbers.
He can’t tire of saying that word power has always been his forte. The nickname ‘Inbuilt Thesaurus’ which he earned during his stint with the Indian Express, Mumbai, aptly describes him. But numbers fascinate him the most!
Reams have been written about his unique ability of memory retention. One has only to be in his company to realize the immense potential this person holds out as an entertainer. As rightly described, his astonishing memory skills are beyond imagination and leave one spellbound.
He explains that this isn’t all that difficult as it appears. It is a matter of training one’s mind and compartmentalizing the facts for future recall that has made the whole exercise seem so simple for him. But he is quick to retort that all this has come to him through years of practice and putting the skill to effective use time and again.
Vinayak Naik, who intended to become a demographer, had to drop the idea of pursuing his doctorate in Demography due to the untimely and premature death of his Guide, Ambanawar Jaypal, in the then Bombay. It was the long hours spent devouring the rich tome of books at the USIS library at Marine Lines that ultimately led him to this absorbing pastime.
After reading Harry Lorraine’s guide on how to improve memory power, he got hooked on to the idea. He, however, says it was only a catalyst and in due course of time he developed his own techniques at mastering the art. His ‘super normal’ memory from childhood also helped him in these endeavours.
The secret of memorizing mobile numbers of friends, relatives and acquaintances, and recalling any of them in seconds, lies in his practised ability to translate the numbers into a word or sentence, depending on the size of the number, and then mentally mouthing it to the person concerned. His memory feats are innumerable.
His guru-mantra is all about having confidence and a strong belief in one’s memory. According to him, the mind is a natural machine which readily obeys any command given.
His concept of ‘memory card’ is unlike anything that we have heard of. Comparing the mind to a computer with numerous folders and an unlimited storing capacity, he exhorts others to command their memory.
He very humbly states that he cherishes his skill, but does not intend to price his talent. Rather he would love imparting this knowledge to some deserving disciple at no cost. But, unfortunately, there are no takers!
According to Vinayak, age is no bar to learn. In fact, he believes that his memory powers are only increasing with age. What used to take him minutes to remember some years ago just takes him seconds nowadays!
As an article on him mentions, ‘the memory building process that started in 1979-80 for Vinayak is still on’. An elephantine memory!
I have met Vinayak Sir on several occasions and have had intimate chats with him at home in Taleigao and in his office at St Inez, over his inherent talents. I have, however, had to fall back on a number of earlier interviews that were carried in several publications to piece together a worthy write-up on one person whom I really admire.
As Vinayak Sir continues to amaze one and all coming in contact with him with his incomparable memory skills, in all my naivety I can only wonder if all this is for real!
