Magic in India

A Traditional Indian Street Magician

India, designated as Land of Magic. Stage or street magic has a long history in India. Magic is mentioned in the Hindu holy books, the Vedas and Upanishad. From God Indra's Jaal(net) the word Indrajaal derived.

Some of the most popular Indian traditional magic tricks are The Great Indian rope trick, Indian basket, Green Mango Mystery, Indian Cups and Ball, Indian Flying Man.

Pratul Chandra Sorcar (P. C. Sorcar Sr.)

P. C. Sorcar Sr.
File:Sorcar6.jpg Father of Modern Indian Magic
Born	(1913-02-23)February 23, 1913 Mymensing which now lies in Bangladesh
Died	(1971-01-06)January 6, 1971 Ashaikawa, Hokkaido, Japan
Occupation	Illusionist
Spouse	Basanti Devi
Children	Ila Palit, Geeta Chaudhuri, Prafulla C Sorcar (Manick Sorcar), Pradip C Sorcar (P C Sorcar Junior), and Provash C Sorcar (P C Sorcar Young)
Website	pcsorcarmagician.com

Pratul Chandra Sorcar (P. C. Sorcar Sr.) is known as the Father of Modern Indian Magic. Magic being in his blood as he profoundly asserted. "When asleep I breathe Magic; when awake I work Magic," Sorcar said in full spirit of ease and delight. The very name of P C Sorcar conjures up the vision of outstanding feats of Indian Magic: the Rope Trick, the Flying Carpet, the X-Ray Eyes. He cast his spell over the most unbelieving audiences and showed before the naked eyes what people thought was impossible. Besides personal achievements in honours (Maths), fame and glory Sorcar's greatest contribution to the World of Magic was the installation of Indian Magic - his beloved Ind-dra-jal - to the pedestal of pristine glory with greater halo round its crown. Under his light and lead it became an Art of International attraction. Sorcar's triumphal success was a magic by itself, but not achieved in one day. It was a whole life's dedication that made him the World's Greatest Magician. He went around the globe several times performing his magic lifting a dying art of India and bringing it to limelight. His items were not mere tricks; each was a combination of modern science mixed with tastefully designed art. Micky Hades, the editor of Hade-E-Gram monthly magazine of Calgary, Canada, wrote about him in his article titled "Sorcar's Artistic Triumph": He was the founder of All India Magic Circle where thousands of members from around the world learned magic under his guidance.

About P.C.Sorcar:- Born in a middle class bengali family, Sorcar started off as a stage name for Protul Chandra Sorcar, a name destined to attain ranks of immortals later. A citizen of India, he was born on February 23, 1913 in the small town of Tangail in Mymensing which now lies in Bangladesh. His father's name is Bhagawan Chandra Sorcar and mother, Kusum Kamini. He had one sibling, a brother, Atul Chandra, ten years younger than him. Sorcar was a brilliant student at school. He graduated from Tangail Shibnath High School in 1929 with first class. In 1931 he earned his I.A. (Intermediate in Arts) degree from the Karotia College (first class) and then joined Ananda Mohan College for B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) with honours in Mathematics. From the very childhood Sorcar found magic to be the passion of his life, which he took up as a full time profession after he sat for his B.A. degree tests in 1933. His singular devotion soon brought its own honest reward. His unique feats of the newly cultivated art had soon won robust acclamation from the press and the public alike. He was hailed as one giving to the Art of Indian Magic a new cultural background which readily found a strong international appeal.

In 1938 he married Basanti Devi, the daughter of Dr. Pramatha Nath Majumder, a renowned medical doctor of Mymensing, Bangladesh. Basanti Devi remained the main source of inspiration for all his achievements throughout Sorcar's life.

Sorcar's interest in writing books on magic flourished simultaneously with his magic shows. Over his life time, he has been a regular contributor of magic-articles to numerous magazines and journals throughout the country and was the author of over 22 books on magic, starting with "Hypnotism", which he wrote while still a college student. The success of the first book led to the other books such as "Mesmerism", "Chheleder Magic", "Magiker Kaushal", "Sahaj Magic", "Magic For You", "More Magic For You", "Hindu Magic", "100 Magic You Can Do", "Indrajal", "Deshe Deshe", "Sorcar on Magic", "History of Magic" etc. in Hindi, Bengali and English languages.

Sorcar died of a heart attack at the young age of 58 in Ashaikawa, Hokkaido, Japan, on January 6, 1971, where he was performing his Ind-dra-jal. The world mourned the great king of magic. Messages of condolence came from friends, families, magicians from all over the world, and from Government authorities and leaders of many countries including Japan, U.K., Australia, New Zealand, USA, and Soviet Union. India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi mourned the loss of the great son of India stating "...with the death of Mr. Sorcar has ended the glorious chapter of Indian magic". On Feb: 23 2010, Government of India released a Postage stamp on P.C. Sorcar Senior. West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee released the stamp.

Vazhakunnam Neelakandam Namboothiri

Vazhakunnam Neelakandan Namboothiri
File:Vazhakunnamnamboothiri.gif Grand Father of Kerala's Magic
Born	(1903-02-08)February 8, 1903 Thiruvegappura, Pattambi, Kerala
Died	(1983-02-09)February 9, 1983
Occupation(s)	magician, illusionist
Spouse	K C Anujathi Thampuratty
Children	K C Aravindakshan Raja, K C Thulasidas Raja, K C Sumathy

Vazhakunnam Neelakandan Namboothiri:- Known as the Grand Father of Kerala's Magic. He gave a new meaning to magic in kerala. He played an important role in bringing Magic as an Art.For more than half a century, he had kept the onlookers spellbound in spite of his extreme simplicity, and devoid of any elaborate stage and costume.

He was born on Makeeram star on 26 Makaram, 1078 (08-02-1903) in Vaazhakunnath Mana in Thiruvegappura, to Raman Atithiripad and Narippatta (Karalmanna) Mahal, Arya Pathanaadi as the fourth son. Raman Atithiripad, popularly known as Vaazhakunnam Ateeri was famous for his wits.After "Othu" (committing Vedam to memory), he learned Sanskrit at Guruvayur from his brother, Vasudevan Nambudiri (scholar and expert on discourse), and English from Pattambi Narayana Iyer.

Though he had a yearning earlier to learn magic after having watched some tricks shown in his Illam by one Mundaya Eachara Varier, his stay at Guruvayur kindled in him tremendous interest about elephants and studied "Maathangaleela" under an expert, Kochunni Thampuran of the Kodungallur royalty. While there, he happened to watch "Cheppadividya" [tricks using Cheppu (cups) and Panthu (balls)] performed by Pallatheri Nambyathan Namboodiri (vide 2, below) an expert and scholar by any standard, and his interest in magic was re-kindled. With the permission of his master, he switched to learning Jaalavidya under this Pallatheri.

Vaazhakunnam later became famous for Kayyothukkam, although occasionally he performed also "Cheppum Panthum" (cups and balls) to small family gatherings. Gradually he mastered other modern magic tricks also. He learned "bullet" tricks from the renowned magician Bekkar of Alappuzha and taught him Cheppum Panthum in return - as Guru Dakshina. He became adept in card tricks from Alli Kittan (Alli Krishna Iyer). He used to put all his little gadgets in a bag when he visited Illams and Kovilakams, and if pressed upon, would show a few items, particularly those based on Kayyothukkam, always captivating the on-lookers. Once in a while, depending on the audience, he would show the "bullet", "tying upon the cross", "guillotine" and other technology-oriented tricks. Though he did not consider hypnotism and mesmerism as part of pure magic, there were occasions when he had to do such tricks under pressure. He was famous for his disappearing act (Mooti Vidya). There were many instances where, after performing a trick, he would even show how it is done, saying that with practice, anyone could do it; such was his humility.

It was after 1940 that he started real stage performances with his troupe. Apart from magic, the shows included short dance programmes, comedy skits, etc. With him was Paryanampatta (Kunchunny Nambudiripad) who was already a well-known actor and Vaazhakunnam's disciple in magic. After 1948, he modified his shows including costumes. He would start with a two-line prayer (his own creation) and a Gandhi Sthuthi, being a true Gandhian. He would start from very simple tricks and proceed to more complicated ones. He was unmatched in "producing" any number and almost any size of different articles apparently from nothing.

At some point, he and P C Sircar (Jr) met, and ever since they had tremendous mutual respect. In his old age, Sircar visited him at home and gave him a cycle rickshaw and in return received a sword. Most later magicians considered it fortunate to be Vaazhakunnam's student. Apart from Paryanampatta, those trained by him include the late Manjeri Ali Khan, Prof: Muthukad, R K Malayath, Joy Oliver, K P Krishnan Bhattathiripad, Kuttiyadi Nanu, K S Manoharan, K J Nair, Vadakkeppad Parameswaran, Raghavan, his own sons and others.

He had married K C Anujathi Thampuratty of Kottakkal Kovilakam (d: 1980) and have two sons and a daughter. The elder son, late K C Aravindakshan Raja (d: 1998) was a magician, while his brother, K C Thulasidas Raja, though a high school teacher, is known as Junior Vaazhakunnam and has been staging magic performances. Vaazhakunnam's daughter K C Sumathy is married to the writer-poet P M Narayanan (Panjavur Mana).

The only time he could not keep an appointment on stage was in 1983 at Kasargod, but that was because on the 9th of February that year he disappeared for ever from the magic (and real) world! .His Contribution towards Magic is written in golden letters.

Prof. K. Bhagyanath

Prof. K. Bhagyanath
File:Kbhagyanath.jpg
Born	Kerala
Died	(1999-01-15)January 15, 1999
Occupation	Magician

Prof. K. Bhagyanath :-His show was known as ' The biggest show of magical entertainment in South India'. Prof. K. Bhagyanath was born on 1916.K. Bhagyanath ,M.A. - inspiration behind the Fantasia Center - is the sole architect of FANTASIA - a super show of magic and illusions,extending for nearly 3 hours. Fantasia Center is dedicated to the memory of this great man who left us on 15 January, 1999.

Magic his passion from the tender age of 9, just grew to a mammoth stage show FANTASIA the only one of its kind in peninsular India even today. He gave his first performance as an amateur magician at the age of 12. Though magic was a real passion in his art although he finished his masters degree in literature and became professor of English. During yearly 1960 his passion overtook his profession and resigned he his job to become full-fledged magician.

In 1963 he shifted bag and baggage to madras giving up the security of a permanent job and filled with feelings of apprehension misgivings and without a "God Father " to launch his FANTASIA a huge show of magic and illusion in 1965. This was a full evening magic show, spiced with humor and spiked with excitement. The show became favorite with viewers and Bhagyanath has entertained audience all over the world.

His most remarkable attribute was his transparent sincerity and his response to any situation was governed by textbook idealism. His gentleness was no Stagecraft and his sentimentalism was endearing. He was a true Gandhian and lived by his principles till his dying day. During his young ages he became influenced by Mahatma and took up the Indian Freedom struggle to his heart. He was a prominent student leader throughout the independence struggle Of India.

Tall, handsome and with a voice that needed no megaphone, his shows ran to overflowing houses.Often quoted as "The most educated Magician in the World", he lived up to it. His enthusiasm for research and experimentation on magic and allied arts was phenomenal and his collection of books on this subjects is a treasure house of information.

He believed that magic is one of the finest arts. He used to say that. " All arts create illusions". Magic creates illusions but with a difference.While all other arts try to create the illusion of reality magic alone creates the illusion of unreality of supernatural and of unseen powers at work. A modern magician is an actor acting the role of a legendary miracle man, creating seemingly impossible feats on stage using scientific principles.

Today FANTASIA remains just a memory of fantastic performances, treasured by his family and hankered for by audiences for an "encore", but Bhagyanath is no more there to oblige.Though he is no more with us, his spirit of adventure and enterprises live on.

Some Classic Indian Magic Tricks

Indian rope trick
Indian Basket
Cups and Balls (Indian Version)
Green Mango Mystery

Some Top and Leading Indian Magicians

P. C. Sorcar, Jr., Gopinath Muthukad , R. K. Malayath, P.M. Mithra , Magician Philip , Magician Samraj , Prahlad Acharya , Ashok Kharbanda, Ashok Bhandari , Ugesh sarkar , Sumit Kharbanda, Magician Suhani Shah , Solyl Kundu , Indranil Ray , Pradeep Houdino, Magic Leo, Nakul Shenoy , Illusionist Jitendra Rajawat , Magician Shado , Escape Arun , Milind kadam , Magician P.R. Akash , Saakaar Sharma , Pratik Shirsat , Sherif Mayika , Magician Roshni ,Rahul Kharbanda, Prince Sil , Magician Susmit Basu , Dharmesh Patel , Prof Jr Shankar , O.P. Sharma , Gautham Jayaram , Jadu Surju R.P.Saha , P.C.Saha , Magiciann Dibya , Jaadugar Gabbar , M. Hussain, Bhanu Pratap , Amitabh Banerjee(Lucknow) , A.K.Banerjee(Lucknow) , Magician Rajkumar , Magician Nikhil , Magician Rajkumar Nashik , Magician Ninad , K. C. PANDEY , Jadugar Jinesh B.E. , Abhishek Giri Acharya ,Illusionist Mangesh[1],Satish Deshmukh[2]

Magic Conventions held in India

• All India Magic Conference 1982 by I.B.M.-INDIA
• Jadu Utsav 2005 Delhi
• Vismayam 1998
• Vismayam 2000
• Vismayam 2006
• Jadu Utsav 2007 Delhi
• Vismayam 2008
• Achambha 2008
• Gili Gili Magic Convention
• Howrah Magic Convention
• Mayamayam

References

• Indian Magicians' Web Site
  
• Online data on Indian magicians
  
• P.C. Sorcar Jr.
  
• Gopinath Muthukad
  
• Magician Philip
  
• P.M. Mitha
  
• Prahlad Acharya
  
• Magician Suhani Web Site
  
• Magic Leo Web Site
  
• Magician "Escape Arun"
  
• Magician P.R. Akash
  
• Sherifmayika' Web Site
  
• Magician Prince Sil
  
• Prof. Shankar & Shankar Jr.
  
• Magician Sumit Kharbanda
  
• Magicians Sumit & Rahul Kharbanda
  
• Magic Shop
  
• Indian Brotherhood of Magicians - Central Executive Society of Indian Magicians
  
• Magician Rajkumar
  
• Magic Maker Magic Shop
  
• Nikhil's Magic Shop
  
• Mangesh Desai