Anjali blinked. She tried 35². 3 x 4 = 12 → 1225. She checked with a calculator. Her heart pounded. 85²? 8 x 9 = 72 → 7225. Correct. Correct. Correct.
By the end of the term, she wasn't just faster; she was curious. She began creating her own problems just to see which sutra would solve them most elegantly. Her math grade rose from a C to an A. More importantly, during a parent-teacher meeting, Mrs. Iyer confessed, "Anjali taught me a way to multiply by 11 that I'd never seen."
She saw: 998 is 2 less than 1000. 997 is 3 less than 1000. Subtract crosswise: 998 - 3 = 995. Multiply the deficits: 2 x 3 = 6. Since it's base 1000, the answer is 995,006.