Four academics, including two brothers and their two friends, have embarked on a unique mission to transform the way young students perceive mathematics.

Forming a trust, "Magicians of Mathematics", they are striving to help students, mainly from Class VII to Class IX, develop a strong conceptual foundation in the subject while replacing fear with curiosity and fascination.

Founded by Mrinal Nandi, Mridul Nandi, Pratyay Mukherjee and Goutam Kumar Paul, the trust aims to nurture mathematical talent from an early age through structured guidance and innovative teaching methods. The initiative seeks not only to strengthen students' grasp of fundamental mathematics but also to inspire them to explore the subject beyond the conventional classroom curriculum.

The trust has adopted a two-pronged approach to achieve its objective. One is an extensive outreach programme conducted in schools across the state, while the other is a dedicated weekly training programme for selected students to receive systematic and advanced mentoring.

While Mridul, Pratyay and Goutam are associated with the Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta, Mrinal is a professor of statistics at West Bengal State University.

According to Mridul, a noted expert in cryptography and a professor in applied statistics at ISI, the outreach initiative consists of one-day interactive workshops involving around 20 to 50 students.

"These workshops are organised in collaboration with interested school authorities across West Bengal to introduce students to the fascinating world of mathematics and its real-life applications," Mridul said.

One such workshop was organised at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High School in Barasat on Saturday, in which about 40 students, mostly from Barasat, participated.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Mridul said: "At the outreach events, we deliver interactive talks to demonstrate the diverse applications of mathematics. We present the subject in a fun and fascinating manner so that students can overcome their fear of mathematics and begin to enjoy learning it."

Explaining the teaching philosophy behind the initiative, he added: "Our objective is to teach students how to learn mathematics. We have adopted various interactive methods to help them understand concepts rather than merely memorising them."

Apart from the outreach programmes, the trust has been conducting a structured weekly training programme aimed at building a solid mathematical foundation among selected students.

"We began this weekly training initiative in 2024. Through this programme, we have been providing organised training to 25 carefully selected students to help them become the real magicians of mathematics in the future," said Mrinal, whose elder brother is Mridul.

The weekly classes are held at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High School in Barasat. Students are selected for the programme through a fundamental aptitude test conducted by the trust to identify young learners with the potential and enthusiasm to excel in Mathematics.

Describing the broader vision behind the initiative, Mrinal said: "Our objective is to equip students with a proper understanding of the fundamentals of mathematics and help them build a meaningful path for their future. We have developed a carefully designed syllabus and a specific teaching methodology to achieve this goal. The entire training programme is offered free of cost."

Emphasising the importance of nurturing mathematical aptitude from an early stage, he added: "The weekly training programme is aimed at strengthening the foundation of mathematics in the minds of students from an early age. We believe that developing the right orientation towards mathematics during the formative years helps students cultivate a lasting fascination for the subject."

Explaining the importance of proper learning of mathematics, Mridul said: "Mathematics is no longer confined to the study of numbers and equations alone. Today, it forms the foundation of almost every modern scientific and technological discipline. Whether one aspires to work in Artificial Intelligence, data science, cryptography, machine learning or advanced computing, a strong grounding in Mathematics is indispensable. In fact, anyone who wishes to learn and excel in AI must first build a solid foundation in Mathematics, as it is the language on which these technologies are built."