Bhubaneswar, Jan. 6: Here is a chance for you to watch how renowned illusionists David Copperfield and Harry Houdini create magic on the stage. Popular magician Jadugar Anand will be recreating some of the famous tricks of the duo along with some of his own at Utkal Mandap.
His shows will begin tomorrow and continue till Januarys 23. There will be two shows daily.
"Magicians across the world have discovered a number of interesting tricks and I want people to watch them. I have acquired those tricks after a lot of research and from experience," said the 63-year-old magician.
Other acts would include the ones that have been personalised by him such as the vanishing of the Statue of Liberty, transformation of a poster to a person and making a member of the audience fly in the air.
"I will randomly call a teenager from the audience and will suspend her midair," said Anand.
For Anand, magic in an art, but it is still neglected by the government.
"Magic has been a tradition in our country since centuries and is still in great demand among the public. But, the government only promotes dance, music and films, but not magic. If the situation is not taken care of, magic will gradually vanish from the showbiz," said the magician, who performs in around 500 shows every year.
His career spans more than 50 years and he has performed in more than 36 countries.
Anand, who is also the president of All India Magicians' Federation, said that steps were being taken to promote magic as an art form. "The federation has more than 16,000 magicians registered from across India and we are planning to set up academies where youngsters can learn magic and keep the tradition on," he said.
Assisting Anand will be his son Akash, known by his stage name Junior Anand.
An MBA graduate from the Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies, Akash, performed a blindfolded act on a motorbike on the streets of Bhubaneswar.
"My aim was to create traffic awareness. I want to convey the message that if visually-impaired people can obey traffic rules and walk on road safely, then people with vision can also do that," Anand said.
The act, however, drew criticism from various quarters. "I feel this is nothing but a stunt show. It would in fact entice others to perform the same acts and end up hurting themselves," said social activist Asit Kumar Behra.
