At an interactive session held in the city today, the child prodigy demonstrated his creations through a slide show. “3D animation is a little tough,” admitted the little expert.

“In another month, Mridul will complete the three-year advanced 3D animation (online) course offered by the Cambridge University,” said his father, M K Seth.

It took him just three months to wrap up the course, said the proud father, Telecom District Manager of the Telecom department.

A student of Class IX in St Mary’s school in Coochbehar, Seth had qualified for an online examination conducted by Microsoft to be the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP). A year later, he qualified the CISCO Certificate Network Associate (CCNA). Today, he is fluent in a host of computer languages including Java, Oracle, C and C++.

Bill Gates himself complimented Mridul, referring to him as “Mini Bill Gates”.

It has not been smooth sailing all the way for his parents though. “He has been an ailing child right from his childhood. His external ear was not well-formed and he still continues to suffer from hearing weakness. He learnt to speak quite late,” said Seth.