CAN you memorise 110110101000101011001100010111001010101?

And then say it backwards without looking at it again?

Mr Nishant Kasibhatla, 30, can.

In fact, he holds the Limca World Record, the Indian equivalent of the Guinness World Record, for memorising the longest binary number and recalling it in the reverse order - a feat he achieved 10 years ago.

The number had 400 digits of either 0 or 1.

In a display of his mental prowess, Mr Nishant, who is formerly a trainer and speaker in India and is now based in Singapore, memorised a 30-digit number after just hearing it read out once during his workshop on Human Resources Day last Thursday.

And that wasn't his only feat. The memory expert even recited the number backwards, and was also able to remember the 21st digit of that number.

FAMOUS

Speaking to The New Paper after his workshop on memory techniques, which was organised by the Singapore Human Resources Institute, Mr Nishant said: 'I started liking the attention that I got from people, and I thought that this would be a good tool for me to get noticed and get famous.

'Everyone knew who I was in college. If I didn't have this skill, I'd just be a normal guy.'

Mr Nishant's passion for memory skills was first instilled by his 54-year-old father, who had coached him and his younger brother in memory techniques.

He got so good at it that by 17, Mr Nishant started conducting memory training courses while he was still in college.

He also started memorising 25-digit numbers. Soon, he was able to memorise 50-digit numbers.

But one day, a friend showed him the Limca Book of Records and told him that someone held the record for memorising a 1,040-digit number.

Two years later, in 1998, Mr Nishant took part in the Indian National Memory Championships, and set the new record by memorising a 1944-digit number.

His memory courses also started bringing in money. Mr Nishant said: 'In 1996 (he was 18), I was earning about 20,000 rupees, the same as top-level executives in India.

'It translates to about $800 (in Singapore currency) today, but it's a lot of money in India, and it was a lot of money in those days.'

Now, each time he conducts a training programme, he charges $4,000 to $6,000 a day.

This has been such a lucrative job, it is the only one he has held.

Despite his accomplishments, there are some who doubt his ability.

During his two-hour workshop here, he recalled an incident when he met a man who had run out of namecards.

Although Mr Nishant had assured him that he was able to remember his handphone number, the latter kept insisting that he write his number down.

'We argued for two minutes, then this guy runs off, finds a piece of paper, and forcibly puts it into my hand!' said Mr Nishant, laughing.

Explaining why he has not considered a career change even after 13 years, he said: 'I really want to make a difference to the way people think about their memory.'

HAPPY STUDENT

Earlier, a 54-year-old man had come up to him and told him how happy he was to have been able to memorise a list of 25 words after being taken through an exercise during the workshop.

Mr Nishant said: 'That made my day. It gives you the high that you need to continue.'

While Mr Nishant conducts workshops in Singapore, his father and younger brother, 28, help to run training programmes in India and Malaysia. His father lives in India while his brother lives in Malaysia.

But even his elephant's memory fails him at times. He said: 'I've got a phenomenal memory, but I'm also a human being.

'Sometimes, I get a one-second introduction to someone. I meet this person again after 10 days. I usually remember their names. But if I can't, I'll just tell them.'

'People expect me to remember them because I'm a memory expert. It's pressurising, but if I cannot remember their names, I won't fake it.'

This article was first published in The New Paper on May 17, 2008.