Tags:
Journalism of Courage
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P C Sorcar Jr
at Indralok |
THERE is magic in the air at Indralok, a sprawling mansion with lawns, ponds, and an orchard. And why not, this is where the Maharaja of Magic P C Sorcar Jr refines his art, this is the place closest to his heart, the one he mentions without thought when we suggest a walkabout.
8216;8216;Get down at the Mallickpur railway station and ask for Singhabari,8217;8217; Sorcar says. That translates into 8216;Lion-House8217;, which is how the locals in this South 24-Parganas village know Indralok, after the magician8217;s pet lion.
8216;8216;This is where I come to give shape to my ideas, and then practise with my team,8217;8217; says Sorcar. A rehearsal is in full swing on a raised platform; the troupe is working on an item they call 8216;Human Bomb8217;. 8216;8216;This is the modification of an older item. Earlier, I used to be tied in a box, which would be detonated into thousands of pieces, while I emerged from an unlikely place in the auditorium. Now it will be my wife Jayshree who will be the bomb,8217;8217; Sorcar explains.
As he takes this correspondent on a tour of the house, he expresses regret: 8216;8216;I always feel bad I couldn8217;t show this house to my father, P C Sorcar Sr. He used the garage of our Ballygunge house for rehearsals and was always short of space. He would have been very very happy to see this place.8217;8217;
P C Sorcar Sr died the way he lived, in a blaze of headlines. 8216;8216;He suffered a heart attack while on stage in Japan in 1971. But he continued with the show and ended by saying that though this was his last show, 8216;tomorrow P C Sorcar will perform again8217;.8217;8217; That was the son8217;s cue to fly to Japan and take over the magic mantle.
Sometime after he had established himself as a worthy successor, Sorcar felt the need for space to conceive ideas, manufacture apparatus and attire and stage his rehearsals. The search ended in 1975, when he bought land in Mallickpur and started building the house. 8216;8216;I first visualise the items, then make a blueprint. Then we start the rehearsals and perfect the production. When I am happy with the overall effect, I take it to stage,8217;8217; says Sorcar. But some of the magic continues to linger in the air in Mallickpur.
