He confesses that he was a "weird boy" at the age of five, a sentiment most of his classmates at school shared. Now, that trait seems to have come in rather handy, taking him across the world, dazzling audiences, all with the powers of his mind.

Ehud Segev - aka the Mentalizer - is a magician who uses no tricks. Or so he claims. The Israeli-born man breezed through town last weekend, showing off telekinetic powers, splitting a spoon in two parts and making objects disappear at will, all while performing at Cloud 9 and Someplace Else. He calls himself "an analyser with spiritual powers".

As proof of his abilities, try this on for psychic size. If you thought the Indian loss last Saturday was a shock to everyone, Segev had apparently predicted the Pakistan win during a Bangalore performance four days before the match. But such feats are all in the game for the 25-year-old, who has been predicting poll results since he was 18.

Segev laid his hands on his first pack of tarot cards at the age of 12. He then started performing at small private shows but it was just a matter of time before he would move on to bigger things. Now, he has even presented The Mentalizer Kabbalah Show on Broadway.

"A girl once told me that I solve everything mentally so my name should be Mentalizer. Since then I use this name when I perform," says the mystic. The Mentalizer is on a two-week tour of India to perform at the Black and White Unbelong Nights. Saturday night was Calcutta's turn to witness the seemingly impossible (picture by Rashbehari Das).

Whether it was making a steel spoon spin full circle or making a burning cigarette vanish into thin air, he drew wild applause for his feats. However, his telekinetic mysteries stole the show. He apparently split a silver spoon in two just by looking at it and worked his magic on one card out of a pack of 52, before getting many members of the audience to mysteriously choose the same one. These "are not tricks, but mini miracles".

Maybe he can also perform the very miracle that eluded John Kerry. "I want to become the US President," says Segev. Is he playing some more mind games?

Zeeshan Jawed