P.C. Sorcar Junior and his daughter Maneka in Guwahati on Thursday. Picture by Rajiv Konwar

Guwahati, Feb. 20: Students in Assam could soon learn the secrets behind Indrajaal or Water of India.

The man who made the magic tricks famous, Prodip Chandra Sorcar or P.C. Sorcar Junior as he is known worldwide, today said he wanted to set up his magic university at Mayong in central Assam’s Morigaon district.

“I am willing to set up my dream magic university at Mayong, where my forefathers had learnt magic,” the magician on his ninth visit to this city, said. Sorcar has been performing every evening at District Library here.

Talking to The Telegraph, Sorcar recalled how his forefathers had come to Mayong and learnt magic which the family has been propagating across the world. His father Pratul Chandra Sorcar took Indian magic outside the country and for his contribution he was awarded the Padma Shri.

Sorcar said he was willing to set up the university in Mayong despite the fact that the US and Japan have shown interest in his project and he has already bought 10 acres of land in Tripura. He said once he opens the university, members of the All India Magic Circle, of which he is the president, would join it.

Sorcar is quite proud about how a new generation was coming forward to learn magic. “There are 25,000 professional magicians across India. Tell me how many professional singers or painter or dancers are there in the country? Of the 25,000 professional magicians, around 100 are from the Northeast, including one or two from Mayong,” he claimed.

Sorcar expressed his unhappiness on the lack of promotion of magic in Assam despite the fact that Mayong was once famous for magic. “The magicians of Mayong are never promoted. Rather they are being misled. I learnt that some people had thrown stones at magicians from Mayong during their shows and set their houses on fire. I came forward to tell people that magic is nothing but a mixture of science and psychology,” he said.

“Our forefathers learnt magic at Mayong and I inherited their tricks. My stage programmes are based on the latest form of magic from Mayong. Unfortunately, now I cannot find a good, informative book on Mayong. I would be happy to get as much information as I can collect from the people regarding Mayong. I want to do something for the area,” Sorcar said.

He said people in Assam were promoting many things but not the magic of Mayong. He said educated people should come forward for its revival and promotion.

Sorcar is looking to his eldest daughter Maneka to carry forward the family art. “She is one of the magicians of the new generation,” he said. Maneka, one of Sorcar’s three daughters, has done MBA from the US but has been practising and performing with her father to excel in the art.