THE popularity of the Harry Potter series worldwide has had an unlikely fallout in India: magic, as a form of entertainment, is getting a fresh boost. Children are once again being drawn to the masters of illusion, abandoning their electronic gizmos and games for a taste of pure fantasy and fun.

The P.C. Sorcar brand of magic is however, yet to catch on Sleight of the hand, levitation, disappearing acts, flying television sets, ventriloquism and dove-of-the-scarf tricks are enough to capture the imagination of today’s kids instead of grand sets with dramatic music and special-effects that numb the mind.

Most magic shows are terrace party attractions. "Corporate shows and product launches also give us the opportunity to demonstrate our skills," says Atul Patil, a Mumbai magician who has become a star of many successful ad campaigns. " I recently got a television set to rise and float above the heads of the people who had gathered for a dealers’ meet."

"We need to constantly reinvent ourselves," explains Sameer Adhikari, who is known to have biscuits flying about in a room filled with children. "Kids are more perceptive than adults and we cannot afford to slip up or repeat ourselves too often, or else, they will catch on."

Adhikari and Patil are members of the 1,000-strong Association of Indian Magicians (AIM), located at Dadar, in Central Mumbai. Once in a month, members congregate over dinner and drinks to exchange notes and discuss professional concerns of common interest.

"AIM is the largest and oldest organisation of its kind in the country," informs Adhikari. "It was formed in 1932 and for more than half a century, existed only on paper. We revived it in the mid-eighties and made these monthly meetings a regular feature."

Most magicians picked up their skills without any formal training and cultivated them with observation and over years of practice. In the absence of any school or academy, they usually start out as assistants of a veteran and learns as they move along.

Patil, for instance, has 67-year-old Milind Kumar as his guru. He met the latter as a 12-year-old after watching him in a show. "He came up to me and said he wanted me to teach him magic," recalls Kumar. "I told him clearly that magic cannot be taught. You need to have the knack to pick up tricks."

According to Kumar, Patil is the "most talented and busiest" of all magicians in Mumbai because he is open to experimentation. From the age of 13 he has been on the stage and has mastered several tricks that Kumar admits to not being very sure about.

"I don’t mind sharing my knowledge with kids," says the 33-year-old master of illusion who has a show on television every week. "I know what it feels to be bitten by the bug and having nobody to guide you. In my case, I was driven by the determination to strike it big in life."

Pravin Tawde is another well-known magician who owes his popularity with children partly to an uncanny facial resemblance with that comic book character, Mandrake. Known for his fire-eating skills, he even admits to being drawn into the profession after reading Mandrake comics as a child.

"So when a local publisher launched the Hindi edition of Mandrake in Mumbai in 1979, I was called," narrates Tawde. "I became an instant hit with the school children who had gathered at the publicity show. Since then, offers have just been pouring in."

Adds rope trick specialist Ramesh Patil: "For us magicians, even after so many years of experience, every trick is a challenge. But my philosophy is, if someone else can do it, so can I. It was with mind-set, I ventured into the profession and I have not looked back since."

With so many entrants in the field and professional rivalry building up, insecurity often sets in — mainly when somebody undercuts another to bag a lucrative product launch contract. "This is a problem, we at the IMA are concerned about," concedes Adhikari.

But others like Sukesh Kumar, a juggler and mimic, brushes aside the issue with the argument that competition is always healthy as it helps in self-improvement. "It is healthy to let everybody have a share of the pie," adds A.K. Chatterjee, a part-time magician working in a bank. "If I can’t do a show, I am comfortable with asking Mandrake to do it!"

HOME