Thrissur: Every time before stepping onto the stage and immediately after leaving it, Akshit connects with his father in Dubai via video call. Akshit’s A-grade mimicry, perfected from thousands of miles away. 

While the first call is usually to learn new mimicry skills, the follow-up call is always for sharing the results of his performance. Guiding him from the other end of the line is his father, Ajay Kumar, who has been mentoring Akshit in the art of mimicry. Immediately after the higher secondary mimicry competition at the Kerala School Kalolsavam here, Akshit called his father, as he always does, to share the joy of earning an A-grade.

Akshit A, a Plus One student at the Government Boys Higher Secondary School in Attingal, has been passionate about mimicry since childhood. His father, Ajay Kumar of Saphalyam in Avanavancheri, who also performed mimicry in his younger years, has never been able to appear on stage due to various reasons. When Ajay moved abroad, he continued performing mimicry for family members via video calls.

Inspired by his father’s guidance, Akshit has been performing on stage since he entered class 5. Last year, too, he received an A-grade at the state-level School Kalolsavam for his mimicry performance.