India’s magicians: striving hard for survival

Prakash works as a hospital anaesthesiologist in Mumbai, uses his breaks to hone his magic skills.

MUMBAI: Prakash Mavinkurve is an unlikely magician. He works as a hospital anaesthesiologist in Mumbai and uses his breaks to hone his magic skills.

Medical colleagues and a captive audience of patients provide a perfect stage for his coin or card tricks. But like so much else in modern India, magic and magicians are changing, as the country’s growing middle classes finds  other forms of entertainment.

“There are a lot of magicians in Mumbai who use the vernacular language — Hindi or Marathi. But there are very few that use good English. Magic is declining in popularity in English because English-speakers have more access to television, DVDs and so on.

“They have their own priorities... Now a magician has to compete,” said Mavinkurve.

“Traditional Indian magic may be dying,” said Mandar Patil, who with his wife runs Patil’s House of Magic and Entertainment in Mumbai, a treasure trove of tricks and props.

“To earn your livelihood and survive just by performing magic is difficult,” he added.

The internet and television shows have opened up the previously secret world of magicians, allowing newcomers to learn tricks.

Specialised magic academies have also been set up which are dedicated to preserving traditions and teaching would-be magicians.

“There has been a lot of exposure on television and people have come to know the different types of magic from close-up and conjuring to illusion,” Patil said.

For the self-taught Mavinkurve, western influences have made life more difficult for those who rely on simple sleight of hand.

“The magic that the audience sees is coming from overseas,” he said. “It’s very high-tech. Many people compare it with what I perform.”

Nevertheless, the magicians said they believed the ancient art of trickery and illusion still has a place in modern India and there is still a demand among customers who are prepared to be amazed.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 10^th, 2011.