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Trade of the tricks
A place to spell the spells would be a good idea, before the art of magic turned into an illusion itself. Indira Parthasarathy on efforts to formalize magic education…
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 Much before Potter and Hogwarts entered the daily parlance of the muggles, most of us hardly ever missed out on Mandrake the Magician action (if only to check out Narda, Mandrake’s love interest). In fact our fascination with the fantastic world of spells, illusions and divination is part of the evolutionary heirloom; recourse to the supernatural was not a matter of choice for the primitive man, when science was yet to come to the rescue.
Magic is believed to be a direct descendant of the practices of wizardry and witchcraft.
The earliest records of history mention the prevalence of magic healing and incantations deployed in a manner to remedy disaster and explain death. When fear mixed with curiosity, it was left to the practitioners of the occult to aid in anticipating the future and influencing the environment. Towards the end of the 16th century, the publication of The Discoverie of Witchcraft – a treatise refuting the phantasmagoric belief system woven around witches and spirits – coincided with the period of increased witch hunts and trials in the European continent. Around the same time, as religion started to hold greater sway, there was a decline in the harbinger-of-evil association with the conjuring arts.
In the east too, Tantra and Vajrayana Buddhism pegged the spiritual on the mystical. P C Sorcar Jr – of the legendary family into its eighth generation of magicians – confirms, “Our ‘magical’ roots go back to our predecessor Krishna Chandra Dev, an expert in Tantra and hypnosis in the mid-seventeenth century.” (See interview below) Magic as a form of entertainment came of its own in the eighteenth century. Earliest known performers include Isaac Fawkes, the English conjurer credited with making magic shows a major attraction at the fairs, and Italian magician Giovanni Giuseppe Pinetti, who introduced the art in theater settings. Professor Louis Hoffmann’s trilogy – “Modern Magic”, “More Magic”, and “Later Magic” – was the definitive magic literature of the 19th century chronicling most classic tricks and their techniques.
Able administration of dexterity, mental ability and scientific knowledge defined a dazzling show as was emphasized by the father of modern magic, French magician Robert-Houdin. A near-namesake, Harry Houdini specialized in ‘escapology’ – making his way out of any kind of captivity – thus taking the art of disappearance to another level. Other common acts in contemporary shows include transposition, transformation, manifestation or production, and mental phenomena.
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 Today magic presents itself as a niche yet thoroughly dynamic form of entertainment. Names like David Blaine, David Copperfield, Criss Angel happen to be among the wealthiest entertainers of our times, whose stunts are a shock-and-awe reprise. Successful Indian magician and Director of the newly inaugurated International Academy of Illusion and Magic (IAIM), Satyajit Datta says, “Magic encompasses nearly everything. Magic has got music, magic has light, magic has stage acting and performance, it has presentation and design... you name it and magic has it.”
In India, magic remained largely a family-run art, be it that of Gogia Pasha, or the Sorcars. Agrees Maneka Sorcar, daughter of P C Sorcar Jr, who said it was only natural for her to take to performing magic, considering it was “in her blood” despite the rarity of women in the field. While the Sorcars are still planning a Magic University, others like the Magic Academy in Trivandrum run by Gopinath Muthukad, and IAIM will look to ensure this highly imaginative and ingenious art doesn’t go *poof*!
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