I'd like to talk about my grandmother, Nani, who lives with my uncle in Lucknow. She never went to university, but she's the best person with numbers I've ever met.
For about forty years, she ran a small fabric shop in the old market with my late grandfather. He handled the customers, and she handled everything to do with money. I spent a lot of my summer holidays in that shop as a child, mostly getting in the way.
What she can do with numbers is remarkable. She can add up a long list of prices in her head faster than I can type them into my phone. She knows instantly what a discount of twelve and a half per cent means on any price. Even now, at eighty, she checks my uncle's accounts every month and spots mistakes he's missed. And she does it all without writing much down. I once tested her by reading out ten random three-digit numbers; she gave me the total before I'd finished using the calculator.
Her skill has helped a lot of people. It kept the shop running through some very difficult years, because she always knew exactly how much money they had and could plan ahead. She also helped neighbours, especially women who'd never managed money, by showing them how to keep simple household accounts. And she helped me. I was terrible at maths at school, and she taught me tricks for mental arithmetic using fabric measurements and prices. I'm now studying finance, which would amaze my teachers from back then. I think she shows that being good with numbers isn't really about qualifications; it's about practice and confidence.