Rajasthan's Tanjeem, 16, Earns Up To Rs 1,000 A Day With Magic Tricks His Father Taught Him A 16-year-old boy from Rajasthan's Baran district, who learned sleight of hand from his father at age 13, is now earning Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 a day performing the act on the streets of Sagar, Madhya Pradesh. In Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, a 16-year-old street performer is drawing curious onlookers with a sleight-of-hand act that looks straight out of a magic show. Passersby near schools and roadside tea stalls across India often spot children performing similar tricks. If someone pays, the children pocket the coins; if not, they simply gather their belongings into a cloth bag and move on to the next spot without complaint. Few ever stop to ask where these children come from, who trains them, or how much they actually earn in a day. A conversation with a boy named Tanjeem, who has been camped in Sagar for four days, answers exactly that. A Skill His Father Taught Him In Six Weeks Tanjeem belongs to Baran district in Rajasthan, near Kota. He is one of five siblings, and none of them, including him, ever went to school; he cannot even write his own name. That lack of schooling meant formal job prospects were never really within reach, which made the skill his father decided to hand down all the more valuable. Three years ago, his father set out to teach him this hand trick, and after roughly a month and a half of practice, Tanjeem had mastered it. He was just 13 years old at the time. That skill has since become his main source of income. From Rajasthan's Districts To Madhya Pradesh In the early months after learning the act, Tanjeem performed across different districts within Rajasthan. Over time, his travels took him further, through several districts of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh, before he reached Madhya Pradesh. The constant movement means he rarely stays anywhere for long, following wherever there are schools, tea stalls and a steady flow of footfall. He has now spent four days in Sagar, where he performs near schools and at roadside tea stalls on the chowpatty. Onlookers hand him Rs 10 or Rs 20 at a time, and by the end of the day, Tanjeem earns anywhere between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. A Family Trade Spanning Four Generations Tanjeem says three of his brothers used to perform this act with him earlier, but they gave it up after getting married. Now it is just his father and him who carry on the tradition. This is not something the family picked up recently, it is a hereditary trade that has been passed down for four generations. What Exactly Is Indrajaal? Tanjeem calls this act Indrajaal, a Hindi word often used for an illusion so convincing it feels like sorcery, and that is precisely the effect he and his father are going for. There is no actual magic involved, it is entirely sleight of hand built on years of practice. The illusion the performer creates looks completely real to the audience, because they cannot tell exactly when or how the trick is executed. That is what convinces onlookers they are witnessing real magic, when in fact it is a craft refined over generations. Mobile Phones Are Shrinking The Crowds Tanjeem also points out that crowds used to gather in large numbers whenever he performed earlier. That number has been steadily shrinking. He blames mobile phones, which now hold the attention of children, young people and adults alike, leaving fewer people willing to stop and watch an act like his. Fewer spectators inevitably means fewer coins, adding pressure on a family trade that has already shrunk from four performers to just two. What this means for you • Across India: As mobile phones pull crowds away, traditional street performers like Tanjeem are seeing both audiences and daily earnings shrink, putting pressure on families that depend on such hereditary trades for a living. • In Sagar: Over the next few days, residents near schools and the chowpatty tea stalls in Sagar may spot Tanjeem performing his sleight-of-hand act. Questions & Answers 1. Who is Tanjeem and where is he from? Tanjeem is a 16-year-old from Baran district in Rajasthan who earns money performing a sleight-of-hand act. 2. How and from whom did he learn this skill? Three years ago his father taught him the act over about a month and a half of practice, when Tanjeem was just 13. 3. Where is Tanjeem currently performing? He has spent the last four days in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, performing near schools and tea stalls. 4. How much does he earn in a day? People give him Rs 10 or Rs 20 at a time, letting him earn roughly Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 a day. 5. What is this act called? It is called Indrajaal, and it is entirely sleight of hand rather than real magic, though it looks convincing to onlookers. 6. Has his family always done this work? Yes, it is a hereditary trade going back four generations, though Tanjeem's three brothers stopped performing after they got married. Inspiration & Lessons • Without any formal schooling, Tanjeem turned a skill his father taught him in just six weeks into a real source of income. • Holding on to a craft passed down through generations of his family became his biggest strength. • Rather than staying in one place, he kept moving through Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh to Madhya Pradesh in search of better opportunities, showing the value of persistence. • Even as mobile phones shrink his audiences, Tanjeem has not given up on the trade, adapting to changing circumstances instead of quitting. https://trendkia.com/en/success-stories/baran-ke-16-sala-ke-tanjeem-roja-kama-rahe-500-se-1000-rupae-pita-se-sikhi-hatha-ki-saphai-8971 TrendKia — Har trend, sabse pehle.