The Jack Of All Trades (And Master Of Many!)

Most people have one talent, but Sati Achath has four. He is a hand shadow master, ventriloquist, magician and artist - And those are just his hobbies. In the day time, this incredible man, who can speak six languages and has four post-graduate degrees, is a Project Evaluation Specialist at the World Bank, in Washington D.C.

Mr. Achath learnt the art of hand shadow imaging from his father, whilst growing up in Kerala, India. Today, the 'Master of Hand Shadows' as he is often called, has a portfolio of 100 shadows that range from artists like Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley to political personalities like Bill Clinton, Margaret Thatcher and Abraham Lincoln.

For most of his hand shadows, he uses only his hands but in a few of them he uses props like straws, wrappers and even a shaver. He has also published a book entitled Fun with Hand Shadows.

And, he was voted the fourth runner-up in the 2008 season of America's Got Talent, where he even managed to impress Simon Cowell!

While best known for his shadows, Mr. Achath is also an accomplished magician, a skill he taught himself and his young daughter Maya, a few years ago. Mr. Achath can do tricks like rope tricks, card tricks and many more illusions. He doesn't show his magic that often, but when he does, people are amazed at how good he is.

As if all these talents aren't enough, Mr. Achath is also a great artist - And not just any art, but fun caricatures, that are based on pictures. He sells a lot of his work and donates the money towards good causes.

Amazingly enough this talented man, who wakes up at 4.am every morning still has time to spare, and says he loves to watch TV, read and play a musical instrument (of course, he is good at three - flute, keyboard and tabla (Indian drums).

Phew! I am tired from just writing about all the stuff this man does - I wonder how he feels! To read more about him check out his website at www.satiachath.com.

sources: redriff.com, openskies