At 14, he is troubleshooter for techie firms

CHENNAI: Avinash Maharaja, who hails from Tirunelveli, has completed 32 online certificate examinations in networking and software conducted by top companies such as Microsoft and Cisco. He has applied to some universities such as Annamalai for getting a BE degree and is now on the verge of creating a Guinness World Record. However, what sets him apart from people who achieve similar feats is the fact that he is just 14-years old and is yet to finish Class IX.  His mother Kalaiarasi, a dermatologist by profession, when she enrolled her son at a local computer coaching centre six years ago to learn the basics, teachers there were astounded by the speed of Avinash in grasping the nuances of programming. When he completed the basic course, they encouraged him to take up computing seriously and advised him to start preparing for the certificate courses. While other kids on the block were engaged in activities usually associated with their age, Avinash spent most of his time exploring the virtual world. Even while appearing for examinations conducted by the Microsoft, he soon realised that his area of interest was ‘Network and Security’ and began preparing for more challenging tests with the Cisco. “I have only one more level to complete called ‘CC IE Lab’, which I would be writing next May,” he says, adding that his aspiration was to involve in Research and Development in his area of interest. In the meantime, Avinash has also started to monetise his skills. After launching his own website, he is now teaching people way older than him from across the world through Gtalk. Also, the boy provides troubleshooting services to a number of firms who have hired his skills from time to time. However, spending too much time with the computer has not affected his performance in school, where he has consistently emerged as the topper in the class. His father G R Ratnavel, a cosmetologist at the Apollo Hospital, Chennai, says that to his knowledge, his son was only one in his age group to have finished 32 online examinations. And he had done this without facing a single failure. “We have applied to the Guinness Book of World Records. We only wish his achievements are recognised widely because we find this to be very unique.”