Spell Check

On the bare stage of an auditorium at Matunga,Mumbai,a man appears out of thin air to the cue of that rumble. Dressed in a pair of harem pants,a red vest and sporting a golden-brown wig that flows down to his shoulders,he is reminiscent of gypsies of Bollywood flicks of the Eighties. You turn your head to get a better glimpse and the mystery of the kerosene smell is solved. Hes clutching a bowl of flaming coals and,you realise,almost immediately,that hes about to eat them.

The man was magician Atul Patil,president of the Society of Indian Magicians (SIM),a 79-year-old organisation based in Mumbai. He went on to devour the coals,without as much as a burp. The occasion was Khul Ja Sim Sim 2011,a convention for Indian and international magicians which he helped organise in Mumbai last week.

But the auditorium did not hold a scene out of a Harry Potter,with men and women in long robes and pointed hats,carrying wands and spelling out Expelliarmus! It was the everydayness of the participants that was striking,who,in trousers and jeans,were as Muggle as they come. Magicians from Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh,milled around,and shared anecdotes and business cards,and even did a spot of prop-buying before they got down to the attraction of the evening: the awards ceremony. Fifteen-year-olds and veterans got their hands on trophies,and gave in to the temptation of long speeches.

Watching in the audience was Bosco Francis aka Amazing Bosco,an Indian-origin magician from Singapore,who has performed in India,China and America,and is known for his ability to manipulate fire to create magic. He earnestly spoke of magic,and effusively of Indian magicians. Indian magic is very down to earth, he said when asked what distinguished Indian magic from tricks by magicians across the world. Indian magic is very down to earth. Only in countries like America will you find magicians using the same principles to make their acts glamorous. But in reality,those performing on the streets here are equally good,if not better.

The fellowship of magicians did not include conjurers of the spectacular. Their oeuvre was modest from 14-year-olds who make red balls dangle mysteriously in mid-air,to men in flamboyant costumes who conjured enough umbrellas to last a Mumbai monsoon.

A day before the event,we had met at Patils spacious apartment in Vakola,Mumbai,where he told us how he organised the event with donations from members of the community. This profession has given me a lot. It has allowed me to buy this house,a car and enough money to give my family a comfortable life. Now I want to give something back. 

Forty-three-year-old Patil recalled his humble beginnings as a teenager from a middle-class family. At the age of 12,he performed his first show for Rs 51 at a Ganesh Utsav function in Prabhadevi,without his parents being in the know. My sister carried my bag of equipment out of the door and assisted during the show, he said with a laugh. I must have done well because I got another booking the next day which paid me Rs 101. Hes a full-time magician now,and his major sources of income include corporate parties,conferences and birthday parties.

With 25 years of experience in the industry,Patil specialises in conjuring doves,but said the trick is to get the audience involved through basic tricks such as pulling coins out of noses and armpits. His shows pay anywhere between Rs 30,000 and Rs 3 lakh,he said. The number of magicians has increased exponentially since I started doing magic, he said. Theres no competition as such,but tricks are harder to keep secret. Moreover,even our audience now knows that magic is just sleight of hand. The only way to distinguish ourselves is to develop unique entertaining styles.

The society includes both the professional and the hobbyist. One of whom was 68-year-old Satya Narayan Kabra,CEO of a plastic company in Mumbai,who has been performing for 50 years despite a full-time job. Before he climbed the ranks in his family business,as a teenager he discovered magic in college when he saw a professional performing. He decided to give it a try by devouring books on the subject. He started off as a conjurer,but soon shifted to mental magic tricks which help him read what the audience is thinking,or what number is on their mind. Asked why he didnt undertake magic full-time,he said quite simply that his family business was more profitable: I prefer to perform only on social occasions,family functions and annual parties for my company.

Prakash Mavinkurve is an anaesthesiologist by day,and a magician by night. But being an anaesthesiologist doesn’t come in the way of my magic, he said. He is another mental magician who doesn’t have to worry about props. I leave the hospital after work,get into my car and drive to where my show is without worrying about props, he said. For many like Kabra and Mavinkurve,magic is a creative outlet,a passion that lets them take time out from their jobs.

When you watch a magician perform,you need to forget about your inhibitions and enjoy the show, said David Nano,a 23-year-old magician from Kolkata who prefers the flattering moniker of Amazing David. His act involved unrolling a long string of colourful scarves and turning them into a fiery red guitar. Young and confident,David has performed for Bhutans royal family and believes,like his contemporaries,that better performances,surprise elements and unique acts help you get the next act.

The magic community faces other challenges,one of the bigger ones being Val Valentino,an American magician who revealed magic’s greatest secrets on a show called Breaking the Magicians Code which recently aired in India on AXN.

When asked about how they deal with these setbacks,most magicians didnt seem very fussed. Let them keep revealing our secrets, said Patil. If were good magicians,well always find a way of reinventing ourselves.