Kerala - The Gods here...

Kerala.....Most brand names would seem to carry a tagline inappropriately exaggerated, but just a look at Kerala and you have found one entity whose caption feels inadequate to describe the beauty it contains. The serene, serpentine backwaters, the calm peaceful beaches, the deep green fields of coconut trees, the mood swings of the clouds, the narrow, yet sufficient roads, the educated and aware populace, the houses invisible from the road but tucked cosily inside narrow lanes, ....the list simply is unending. Each of us can look at it from our own chosen perspectives and all we'll find is a face of our country that the other parts have much to learn from.

Kerala is special not only because nature has amply endowed it, but also because there seems to be an inherent will in the system here to keep it green. That is something the rest of India can learn from this beautiful state.

Kerala is not only a beautiful place, but a place rich in culture. And the encouragement showered upon Magic here is something all others magicians are still struggling for, in their respective provinces. Kerala was the first state to include Magic in the Fine Arts category. It set a precedent that gave a huge impetus to other states' magicians to intensify their efforts for the same. And thankfully, most other states followed suit. For this magnanimous gesture, the whole Magic Fraternity of India salutes Kerala.

Rajasthan and Kerala, statistically, are the two states with maximum number of magicians AND magic-lovers. Much too many people aspire in these two states to be successful magicians in their life. And many have made big names for themselves in Kerala. Formost would be Prof: Vaazhakunnam Neelakandhan Namboodiri and K. Bhagyanath. There contribution to the overall development of Magic is incalculable.

The torch was carried forward deservingly by Shri Malayath. After the above mentioned magicians, Kerala ould have lost that glamor in magic had not Malayath resolved to devote his every living second to this art. Spreading magic even through movies, Malayath gave birth to a lot of magicians like Gopinath Muthukad who worked as his assistant for almost 8 years. Now, his son plans to succeed him and is well on the way.

Today, along with Malayath, a number of eminent magicians keep Magic's flag flying high. Among the new generation, my personal favourite is the show of Shri Samraj. Not only is the show professional in feel, I cant help but appreciate Samraj's courage in choosing HORROR theme for his show. It's quite a daring step given that most magicians prefer to keep plain entertainment in their shows here. And the result of Samraj's efforts is certainly fabulous! I remember witnessing his show where all us spectators were seated in open air. It suddenly started to rain heavily. Unlike what I predicted, the audience chose to hang on, defying the rain, getting drenched in the process, some hiding under whatever trees were nearby, some carrying a plastic bag over their heads, others tooks the plastic chairs and held them on top of themselves to shield themselves. No doubt these "shields" were just a psychological consolation. They all were drenched anyways. BUT NONE WENT OFF!!! They just couldn't. Samraj's baritone voice, his excellent presentation, his son's created sound system, the professional quality apparatus and his supreme skill turned me into his fan. I have not seen a show as captivating as his.

Shri Mithra is the only national-level magician of Kerala today, in the sense that I have come across his shows often in various parts of South India, being performed for the local population of wherever his shows are put up. Other magicians prefer to perform for the Malayali communities based in other cities. But Mithra's shows click with people of other region too. Moreover, he is the only one who has his shows running for a long duration like a month in Chennai or Madurai or other places, with tickets(not donation tickets). Although I have not been able to witness his show, people do put a lot of money to hold his shows commercially for a long period of time. The other magicians, on the other hand, perform only a show or two in a place. Mithra's show is known to have a broader spectrum of presentations which is appreciated outside Kerala too. And the sweet and polite gentleman that he is, even two minutes of conversation with him can make someone fall in love with him.

Shri Muthukad has found his place under the sun as a Brand Ambassador of Kerala Inc., performing mostly for Malayali community in various parts of the country. He has a Magic Academy in Trivandrum which helps him stay in news. He is often sponsored by the Kerala Government in his ventures. But then again, that also restricts him mostly to Malayali community.

Kerala Magicians still do not perform commercial shows. They perform contract shows in Kerala, Gulf or sometimes in other parts of the country. Many of them ask me how we are sustaining such a huge show such as ours. My answer has been simple - A GOOD, ENTERTAINING, MODERN SHOW. I explain to them just how hard we work on our show. But I always feel there is a look of disbelief in their eyes. They don't seem to accept that such a huge budget show is being run just on the confidence of having a good show. Sounds too simple to them.

And why not should it! Having mentioned these present four Giants of Kerala Magic scene, I have not the slightest doubt that each of them is a guardian of Magic right down to his blood cells. I have seen them work immensely hard, like any other successful magician in the country. Being too pedantic, there's a lot of rivalry within Kerala amongst these magicians. But as always, all that this competition has done is that it brought out the best of all of them. I remember having met Mr.Muthukad at Erode after one of his shows there. His show is obviously commendable. He was returning after a very tiring and exhausting journey of the whole country. During the show, I could see the exhaustion in his body, but more visible was the defiance in his eyes against this exhaustion. He seemed to be controlling his body through the power of his mind, as if challenging everything in his way which tests his devotion to the cause of Magic. And I have seen this look in the eyes of all these magicians. They have a formidable spirit and an unbreakable devotion towards Magic.

Having such strong-willed brothers in Magic, a certain optimism arises in my heart about future of magic in India. Yet somewhere, I know they are Atlas. They all carry their own crosses. Till the Central Government stops and takes a look at the plight of the magicians and decides to give a helping hand, Indian Magicians will keep fighting just to keep Magic alive. They will never be able to aim for any higher ambitions. Whatever they can do they will do. But the word "whatever" will remain. As of today, just a REMOVAL of tax is looked at as an encouraging gesture from the government. Getting financial and other aids is a distant dream.

Rajasthan continues to be a class apart. Jaipur has seen the laying of Foundation of a Truly Global Class Magic Academy while the Congress government reigned. A decent percentage of it's construction was over. Hopefully, when Congress returns to power there, it will finish off what it started - a 200-crore Indian International Academy of Magic which will only be the 2nd of its kind after the Magic Castle of Hollywood.

Good decision Mohanlal Sir!

An act like The Great Fire Escape should not be performed by someone not totally into the profession of magic, AND not physically fit. Mohanlal Sir's determination was immensely appreciable, but not practical. Unless he was doing the SISSY( according to me) version of this act in which the magician exits the box BEFORE the box even touches the structure that is finally put on fire, it was risky.

These comments come from someone who has performed The Great Fire Escape(aka the burning illusion??) NINE times and in more riskier and grander manner than anyone else. So these are not my opinions, these are my experiences speaking.

In my view, Mohanlal sir owes a "thanks" to Samraj Sir( whose show is the only magic show I like apart from that of Mitra Sir). If the reader still wants to know why I think that, kindly go back to the top of this post and see the scanned image from TIMES OF INDIA of 29th December, 2000. And that this unfortunate accident happened not only in Kerala, but right at Thiruvananthapuram, is an amazing coincidence. And this accident happened despite the deceased being a Magician himself. If something like this can happen to a Magician himself, I wonder how much chances were in Mohanlal sir's favor of succeeding.

I also noticed how Mohanlal sir's mother was used in the whole episode. One day the papers were given her statement that she is confident of her son's success and she's at peace regarding the same. Next day, when the act was cancelled due to Samraj Sir's supporters, she was used by the same papers as a scapegoat and quoted Mohanlal sir's close associate as saying "Lal sir knew that his mother was in a DEEP STATE OF PANIC." To what depths some people are prepared to stoop for a little publicity! Using someone's mother in the dirty manipulations is beyond my imagination! And the publicity this institute would have got, was not as a great magic performer, but as a Great Convention Manager! Not surprising, given that most magicians in India treat Magic as their SECONDARY SOURCE of income. What we have here is just an addition to that large number of people.

I salute Samraj sir, not only for removing any potential threat to Mohanlal Sir's life, but also for saving the Modesty of Professional Magic. We magicians are under an oath of secrecy. To make outsiders a party to our secrets which have been created and cultivated by Greats like Harry Houdini and others, is cheap behaviour. Samraj sir's stand is not(as some people are trying to make others believe) out of Jealousy, but out of genuine concern for Magic Profession's ethics and Code of Conduct as a whole. With this incident, Samraj sir has become an Idol to the Magicians of India. Great going Samraj Sir!

Tour starts again

So here we are again....after a long hiatus. Well, breaks were going on for us and all our employees had gone for a long, long break to their homes all over India. I was the only one left out here to fight my way out of the mountainload of work.

We start now in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. There is a thing or two to say about Tamil Nadu. No other people have I found as wonderful as the Tamils. And this I mean within India because I am no authority on natives of other countries. But in India, nothing like the Tamil people. Before my first visit to Tamil Nadu around four years back, I had conducted on personal level, a lot of surveys on Tamil Nadu. The contrast between what I heard and what I saw, was overwhelming. The whole country still only recites the pro-Tamil language stand this state took a zillion years back. The survey couldn't have been further from truth.

Today, Tamil Nadu has people from every part of the country residing in it. And Tamil, English, Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam are the languages I hear too often here. According to some stats, the population of Chennai comprises of 40% Andhraiites! Today's Tamil Nadu is way ahead from the incidents that my surveyees kept quoting.

People of Tamil Nadu - I have seen none like them. Not in this country! This is the only place where people(except the Auto and Bus people) actually are courteous towards others on the road while driving. Tamils are BIG hearted! I have known this and hence I have a huge lot of friends here, in almost every city of Tamil Nadu. I love the Tamil language, and I am jealous of those who can speak it fluently because I wish to be able to do that. I feel that politeness and courtesy is genetically resident in the Tamil blood. There can be no other reason why there are hardly any exceptions to this softness inherent in Tamils.

Simplicity is a basic Tamil ingredient. I haven't seen any crooked minded Tamil, a scene rather common as you keep going Northwards of our country. It's not that they are not ambitious. The Tamils are ambitious, but they want a solid foundation made up of hard work and honesty for their professional standing. The Tamils want peace and happiness over profits and wealth.

Tamils are the only people I have seen who smile so much. And so often carrying around a fake smile myself, I find it easier to make out the difference between the two. Tamils smile even at any stranger. Gives me a hint of all the love they carry in their hearts. There maybe some who might read these words and think that I was just lucky to have found good people here. I say - co-incidence doesn't repeat itself a thousand times over.

Chennai MIGHT give some results contrary to what I stated about Tamils, but then life in a Metro city is not a cakewalk. But still, the people here have maintained their sanity much more over those of other Metros. I sometimes try to analyse the reasons for this magic happening in Tamil Nadu, but I have to give-up at the outset. I really don't know how Tamils ended being so wonderful, what the reasons behind it all. I have to just give it up and let myself drown in this wonderful social culture Tamil Nadu has in itself.

Police is efficient here. But I don't think Police has much work here compared to other states. People here do not need policing. They are God-fearing, conscientious people. If you ever find someone here who you don't like, he is probably just following Police instructions regarding playing safe. And I bet, you'll see the apology on this Tamilian's face for not being able to help.

I studied about Tiruvalluvar when I was small. And I feel every Tamilian has read, understood and is following his wisdom. I can't come up with a better reason for the clean hearts each and every Tamilian has in him.

Art thrives in Tamil Nadu. And artists are respected immensely here. Tamil Nadu is actively preserving and promoting every art whether in funding, or in exposure. There's simply no doubt about it.

To sum it all up, Tamil Nadu is the only place as close in appearance to heaven as possible in this Mortal World. And Tamil people are the ones making it happen.

I LOVE TAMIL, TAMILIANS and TAMIL NADU!!!

I salute this great state!