The coin vanishes at Shyam Kant Nigam's bidding. A pack of cards does mysterious tricks. Handkerchiefs change colour. All that the 49-year-old magician has to do is to utter a string of magic words and strange things begin to happen. How does Nigam control such cosmic forces? Ask him; he is ready to let the cat - or the rabbit, if you please - out of the bag.Last month, Nigam launched a school to impart skills in the arcane art. The Academy of Vedic Indrajaal in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, is, in a sense, a project to ensure that the secrecy maintained by magicians does not result in the art dying out. Nigam, who has organised hundreds of shows in India and abroad, says popular tricks like the Indian Rope Trick have been lost precisely due to this reason. "I intend to popularise the art of magic," he says.And he is succeeding. "Everybody is curious about magic," says Nigam, who plans to link his academy with Mahesh Yogi's Vedic University shortly. "My youngest student is five years old and the oldest is well past 50." The 20 students, including six women, attend a three-hour class in the evening. "This is the most exciting class I have ever attended," says Dhruva Mukherjee, 40, a bank officer.And it might well be, for what is more engrossing than unravelling the secret behind "magic" happenings? For children, it is especially wonderful. Says Sagar Salariya with the enthusiasm typical of an eight-year-old: "I am going to have a lot of fun telling my friends in school about the tricks I have learnt."The engrossed students not only unravel secrets and learn about sleight of hand, but they also read about India's traditions in magic.The learners sit spellbound as magician Shilpi Raj demonstrates how to prepare tea by placing the pot on the head of a volunteer. She then discloses the secret behind changing the colour of a feather brush from blue to red. "Simple," she says, "press a button and a different set of feathers emerge." Indeed, idiotically simple. Students learn their first lesson: conjuring is doing simple things in a complex manner. "It's all about confidence," instructs Raj. "You have to be confident when you try to hoodwink people."It takes time before you become an accomplished performer. The preliminary two-month "Indrajaal Patu" course equips learners to give performances at small gatherings. After the second course, the "Indrajaal Visharad" lasting six months, they will be able to perform at bigger congregations. The third and final course, the "Indrajaal Parangat", will be the launching pad for stage shows. And all that you pay to acquire these dark skills is Rs 350 a month. The students also learn about the Indian tradition in magic. For instance, that it was through magic that Ravan turned Mareech into a golden deer to lure Ram and capture Sita in the Ramayan. Or that Krishna - often called Mayavi or Chhaliya, meaning a magician - used his esoteric skills to create the illusion of dusk on the battlefield in order to kill Jayadrata in the Mahabharat.Nigam could have chosen no better place than Jabalpur for his academy. It is a town replete with magical moments. For instance, in the late '70s, Union minister Brijlal Verma was escorted from the airport to the Circuit House by three blind-folded magicians on motorbikes. Raj emulated their feat two years ago when she similarly piloted Congress leader Ashok Gehlot's car along the same route. There is also the celebrated story about Madho Singh, a dreaded dacoit who became a magician after his surrender, who was robbed of his entire evening's earnings after a show in Jabalpur. "He was quite clumsy as a magician and someone did not like his performance," says Raj.Nigam's efforts to take the mystery out of magic dates back to 1980, when he organised a contest for children. The winners were taken to Delhi to meet Mrs Indira Gandhi who remained with the young tricksters for over three hours as they plucked lollipops and chocolates out of thin air. Now many more will learn how. All because a magician wanted to share his knowledge. The academy will, for sure, rank as the finest trick of Nigam's career.preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}Published By: AtMigration Published On: Dec 8, 1997--- ENDS ---
