Bhubaneswar, Nov. 4: It's a gym, not for the body, but for the brain.

Here, school students barely take a few seconds to multiply up to tables of 10,000 and remember numbers over 500 decimal places. It's not by chance, but through practice that they have managed to reach this level.

The trainers at Mind and Memory Gym, Satyanagar, help students and youth link whatever they wish to remember by linking them to images. Activating the visual banks of their memory help them achieve a strong mind.

"We activate the right side of the brain, which deals with creativity and hence, visualisation and memory skills. The left side of the brain is used for logic, analysis and calculation. In some of our courses, we also help improve the co-ordination between both the sides, and in the process, activate the midbrain through interesting exercises. This helps students remember things easily without stress," said Mrutyunjay Kumar, the memory master trainer at the gym.

The students are encouraged to think of "ridiculous" images for specific numbers, names or words and similar other methods to think faster, Kumar added. The gym has developed a following among students and youngsters.

"I enjoy the classes. We are given easy tricks to remember our studies better and calculate faster. My friends also attend the memory gym classes. I have been practising these techniques for four months and I remember the mathematical digit pi up to its 500th decimal," said Class IV student Sanskriti Priyadarshini.

Civil services aspirants and management students, medical and IIT aspirants are also attending classes at the institute. "Our institute is 15 years old and now we have 350 students. The technique is slowly getting popular among school students and those preparing for competitive examinations. We offer separate classes for these aspirants," said Atal Bihari Mallick, a senior trainer at the institute.