The Magic Space opens in Bangalore...

Sunday May 25 2008 saw The Magic Space open in Bangalore for magicians and magic lovers alike.

I have posted some photos of the memorable get-together that was organised for the inauguration of The Magic Space at Google Photos.

Click here for this and more photos of The Magic Space

I will post a write-up about the event as soon as I can.

Where’s the magic? Where’s the entertainment?

Vismayam 2008 saw over 750 magicians from India and abroad convene to Trivandrum. As always, the adherence to time was admirable and likened by many to the ways of the Indian Army! The overwhelming success of this well-organized event adds yet another feather in the cap of the Magic Academy, led ably by Gopinath Muthukad.

I am privileged to have been part of the august international jury, and use this forum to congratulate the winners of the competitions. Being a jury member for both preliminary and final rounds accorded me the chance to watch every single competition act.

The level of competition I must say was disappointing to say the least. The Best Entertainer competition was at best non-entertaining. Dariel Fitzkee once said, “While it is true that the audience may be there because he is a magician, it is even more true that his spectators are there because they expect to be entertained – entertained by magic”.

Hashim’s performance (along with a couple of others) was clearly in a league of its own. Truly, one of the very few acts that made the foreign magicians take notice; even state out loud “Finally! Some magic!”

Many may not like reading this, but seriously – Is this the best we can do? How many acts that appeared can consider competing at the forthcoming Magic Olympiad – FISM 2009 in China?

PS: This article originally appeared in the May 2008 issue of the VMN.

News about The Magic Space

The media response to The Magic Space has been pretty exciting.

The leading Kannada daily Vijaya Karnataka carried a nice write-up about The Magic Space on the front page of the Bengaluru Vijaya magazine supplement on Friday the 23rd May.

Today, the Deccan Herald carried a news story on the launch of the Magic Space headlined Magical Feel in The Metro Life headlined Magical Feel. The Deccan Herald says "Magic Space, a unique place for magicians, has been inaugurated in the City. This is one place magicians can magic, talk magic, read magic, and of course buy magic." The full story may be read at the Deccan Herald website.

Bangalore to have a Magic Space!

BANGALORE, MAY 23 2008: Come Sunday 25th of May, Bangalore will have a Magic Space – a unique place for magicians from across India and the world to see magic, talk magic, read magic, and of course buy magic!

The Magic Shop Bangalore which has been in the business of manufacturing and exporting magical apparatus for over a decade is now transforming into an interesting concept, called The Magic Space.

Located at the Avalahalli BDA Park Bus Stand (off Mysore Road), The Magic Space is pitched to be the perfect place for magicians to get together for a tête-à-tête, to exchange ideas, to read magic magazines and books, or just for a cup of tea/coffee; a next generation Magic Shop where magicians and magic lovers can catch up with magician friends – old and new.

Giridhar Kamath, the man behind it all, says, “The Magic Space will host regular sessions and workshops from renowned magicians and trainers on varied topics on the nuances of magical performance. We will also host teach-in sessions for people who want to learn magic”.

This Sunday will see a lot of magicians from across the country getting together here for the inauguration and subsequent closed-door magic sessions. Some surprise guests are also expected to grace the inauguration event.

“We sincerely hope that The Magic Space becomes the hotspot of magic in India. A place every foreign magician visiting India drops in to, to meet up with Indian magicians from across the country,” says Kamath who looks at this latest venture as his way to give back to the world of magic, and contribute to its development.

The Magic Space will ensure that professional and amateur magicians alike will now be able to experience and buy all kinds of high-quality magical wares here; be it the oldest to the latest product in the world market, from the best in genre to their all-time favourite items. Plus a lot of people interested in magic will now be able to learn it from the masters of the craft. For more details see www.themagicspace.net

Note:
The above is a transcript of the press release issued with regard to the launch of The Magic Space in Bangalore. The Magic Space is located at #481, Avalahalli BDA Park Bus Stop, Girinagar, Bangalore 560085.
Karnataka State. INDIA.

When journalists goof up...

Can you spot any difference in these articles on Manick Sorcar?

Another Sorcar makes award-winning magic
-- By Suman Guha Mozumder, India Abroad


Another Sorcar makes award-winning magic
-- Suman Guha Mozumder, India Abroad

Perhaps looking at the P C Sorcar family-tree explains why some things are missing in the "reproduction" on Manick Sorcar's website?!

:-)

Meeting K Lal, the doyen on Indian Magic

Being a member of the Jury for the magical competitions at Vismayam 2008 was challenging and fun, but even that could not compare with the utmost joy gained from meeting the doyen of Indian Magic - Magician K Lal from Gujarat.

It indeed was a very special moment when the nonagenarian came visiting The Magic Space stall at Vismayam 2008, and said good things about the products that were on display and sale there.



Hearing appreciative words from Master Magician K Lal about my Essential Card Magic Kit for professional and amateur close-up entertainers was surely the best part of the four day convention for me. Not to mention, entertaining the legend was an enthralling experience that will stay with me all my life.

K Lal ji -- I have to say -- is the one of the most humble and encouraging people I have met, especially in the Magic fraternity.

Kudos to the grand old man of Indian Magic, who is billed as The World's Greatest Magician for his shows the worldover!

Please Note:
K Lal is currently performing in Chennai with his son K Lal Jr. Catch the show if you can!

A Land of Magic called India…

Yes! I chose to start with the most clichéd title there is! And here’s why.

India since time immemorial has had Maya (illusion) and Indrajal (Magic) deeply entrenched in its folklore, myth and legends. India has been known as the Land of Magic and Mystery right from the days of the very first foreign traveler stepping on to the Indian shores. Various mystical and paranormal occurrences have found a mention in many anecdotes, biographies, and other writings.



Having said that, Indian Magic—by that I mean, itinerant and traditional Indian Magic—has had quite a harrowed and troubled status. During the colonization of India, many a western magician and ‘investigator’ that came to India in search of its elusive mysteries, went on to write anecdotes and books that were nothing more than exposures to the methods of the Indian itinerant magician. Read any of these accounts, and you are left with a rather dubious view of the traditional magician.



For some reason, Indian magic has never been projected as a skill or an art in these accounts, and always looked on as a pseudo-practice of black-magic or skullduggery. In other words, a practice befitting exposure to show it the way it is, to demean it even. Even the legendary trick (that arguably never was) is best known as The Indian Rope ‘Trick’.

No wonder then that the itinerant magic shows have remained shunned by the public, and continue to be looked on with fear and trepidation. Today, the itinerant magician performs only in the streets and nukkads of secondary towns and villages, and has almost been reduced to being a social outcast in his own land.



Indian Magic is in many ways the purest form of magic owing to the simplicity and everyday nature of the props used; in that sense almost prop-less. Mostly in the Bizarre genre, Indian magic deals with decapitations, snakes, scorpions, mediums, readings, not to forget fully-surrounded levitations, vanishes, productions.

Watching the itinerant magician at work is a treat to the eye, especially for magicians, as each performance is nothing short of a seminar in the nuances of misdirection, perfect usage of logic and storytelling.

I consider myself most fortunate to have been able to watch the irrepressible performance of Sri Samjunath Vadi, who at the young age of 83, mesmerized magicians and laypersons alike with his inimitable productions of scorpions and snakes. Truly a master magician, Sri Vadi who after stripping himself to prove nothing hidden on his bare body, transforms a brick to a serpent in less than a blink of the eye!



I have been lucky enough to see this act at least three times, and truly have no idea how he does what he does. Nor would I like to know, for this act to me is the best example of the Real Magic that India, the land of Magic & Mystery has been renowned for.

If you doubt my word, I invite you to witness a live performance of an itinerant magician, and dare you NOT to enjoy it.

PS: This article originally appeared in the Convention Souvenir for Vismayam 2008 - The International Magician's Convention held at Trivandrum between May 1-4, 2008.

PPS: An earlier article on Indian Itinerant Magicians can be found at Mesmerising Indian Magic...

The Magic Space is here...

My friend Giridhar Kamath (of The Magic Shop, Bangalore) is all set to launch his new and revolutionary magic store... called The Magic Space.

Unlike the other few stores we have in the country dealing with magical props, The Magic Space is set to be *the place* for magicians from all over the state and country to meet up to discuss the nuances of the art.

And my recent conversations with some of the top-performers and famous magicians in the country also shows that the excitement is catching, as Magician M Yona, Mega Magic Star Kudroli Ganesh, Cardician Shekhar, Indian Houdini Prahlad Acharya, and more expressed their keenness in holding lectures and presentations at The Magic Space.

Nothing surprising in there, given that Giri has always been giving that extra importance to the quality of the magic apparatus and props that are manufactured by him.

And that's enough to get anybody about the new launch and the upcoming activities.

For now, I leave you with some advert content from The Magic Space...

---

The Magic Shop, Bangalore is now The Magic Space...

Come, visit The Magic Space – a unique magical space where you can see magic, talk magic, read magic, and of course buy magic.

The Magic Space, Bangalore is the perfect place for magicians to get together for a tete-a-tete, to exchange ideas, to read magic magazines and books, or just for a cup of tea/coffee; a next generation Magic Shop where you can catch up with magician friends – old and new.

If just that was not enough, you can also experience and buy all kinds of high-quality magical wares here: from the oldest to the latest product in the world market, from the best in genre to your all-time-favourite item.

The Magic Space is ready. Are you?


For more information see: www.themagicspace.net