A young Bahrain-based illusionist has set three international records for his latest and most refreshing performance.
Indian expatriate Ashvath Shajith from Juffair achieved the milestone alongside a group of 98 other practitioners for the most people to ever convert a beverage into water.
The act served as an anti-narcotics and alcohol awareness campaign with a core ‘SAY NO TO DRUGS’ message.
International Book of Records, Indo-World Book of Records and America Book of Records recognised the attempt, staged by Art of Mentalism and Kerala School of Mentalism in August last year.
Ashvath, who is presently in India preparing for his engineering entrance exams, and the other participants received certificates of acknowledgement.
Mentalism is a performance art in which practitioners appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Mentalists rely on nuanced tricks, including psychological influence, suggestion, sleight of hand, and secret information gathering to create the illusion of reading minds or controlling objects.
“It feels great to have set this record and I look forward to many more,” the 17-year-old told the GDN. “All those practice sessions in front of the mirror have paid off,” he added.
The New Millennium School alumni started his journey when he was 13. Inspired by popular performers, he learned the tricks of the trade watching shows and later enrolled for several online sessions where he honed his craft.
So far, the Shaolin kung fu black belt holder and painting enthusiast has staged close to 50 performances in Bahrain and India.
In addition to the thrills of showmanship, Ashvath is most drawn to audience interaction.
“Seeing the look of surprise on people’s faces is rewarding,” he noted. “I usually perform in front of a mirror but right before a show I do my act in front of my parents. My mum can easily pick up on the tricks so, if I convince her, that means my act is good.”
Ashvath highlighted that his family – father Shajith Majikkara, mother Sandhya Shajith and sister Rithika Shajith – has been his biggest support throughout his journey.
“Most performers have a team that helps them but for me it is my family – they are my cheerleaders, my cameramen, editors and everything,” Ashvath remarked.
“My wife and I never had to involve much in our children’s academic and extracurricular pursuits. They have always been ambitious, resourceful and good at managing their time between studies and hobbies,” Mr Majikkara, who works as a project controller in the project finance department of a local telecom company, explained.
Sandhya Shajith is a homemaker and avid artist while Rithika Shajith, 21, who also attended New Millennium School, is currently pursuing her medical studies in India.
The family has been living in the kingdom for the last 25 years.
“I have very fond memories of my life in Bahrain. The community is so supportive of the arts and other activities, which gave me a platform to pursue painting, martial arts and singing,” Ashvath added.
Not one to rest on past laurels, the mentalist is preparing for his next set of performances with the earliest one to be staged next month.
The GDN previously published the teenager’s achievement acknowledged by the India Book of Records and confirmed by the Indian government accredited agency, for correctly identifying the pictures of 106 species of dinosaurs, with their correct names, in just 60 seconds.
- For more tricks, follow @mentalist_ashvathshajith on Instagram.
melissa@gdnmedia.bh
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