Magic, magicians: India
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John Zubrzycki’s backgrounder
A lot of Western magicians stole or appropriated Indian tricks October 7, 2018: The Times of India
John Zubrzycki was enchanted by the profusion of jugglers and performers on Calcutta’s streets during a visit in the 1970s. That fascination translated into a scholarly work on the history of Indian magic. The Sydney-based author of Jadoowallahs, Jugglers and Jinns: A Magical History of India tells Sonam Joshi that there is more to Indian jadoo than P C Sorcar
What sparked off your interest in the history of Indian magic and can you tell us about the first trick you saw?
I used to see a lot of magicians when I was in India in the late 1970s, but the encounter I remember most was outside Alipurduar railway station in 1979 when I saw the basket trick being performed. A young boy climbed into a round basket and an old man chanted incantations and plunged a sword through the wicker. The blade came out bloody but the boy later emerged unscathed. It was quite spectacular. Later, I realised that a lot of Western magicians were appropriating Indian costumes and tricks in the early 20th century. Even Harry Houdini started his career posing as a ‘Hindu fakir’. You also had a new class of Indian magicians who had learnt Western magic and gotten so good that they were travelling to the West and wearing top hats and coat tails. While writing the book, I saw lots of magic that I have no explanation for but I know it is all trickery, based on human ingenuity.
How did Indian magic come to dominate the Western imagination from the 19th century onwards?
India was seen as this far-off place where real magic existed, and its reputation only grew as Western magicians started returning with tales of the extraordinary feats of India’s street magicians. A traditional Indian magician neither had the luxury of a stage nor props that can make objects disappear. He had, at most, a bag. A Western magician needed special lighting, trap doors, curtains and mirrors. An Indian magician seemed more mysterious. But there was also a certain East vs West rivalry. Western magicians tried to assert their superiority by stealing or buying tricks from impoverished street magicians, or exposing their secrets through writings. Indian magic was considered primitive, crude and unchanging while Western magic was thought of as sophisticated and modern.
Under British rule, Indian entertainers were often taken to the West on exploitative terms. How did some become successful performers in their own right?
Street magicians were recruited for world fairs and exhibitions from the 1860s, and it peaked around the turn of the century. They came from marginalised communities that were later classified as criminal tribes. Sometimes, corrupt impresarios just abandoned them on the streets of European cities. Those who found success (see box) did so through skill, ingenuity and a lot of chutzpah.
How did P C Sorcar change the rules of the game? You’ve argued that he owed his popularity to showmanship and selfpromotion…
Yes, there’s a certain truth in that. Sorcar brought Indian magic to the notice of the world stage. He was a master publicist. He would bombard newspapers, magazines and magic journals with reviews of his shows, brightly coloured posters and photographs, emphasising that he’s the world’s greatest magician even though he had no claim to call himself that. Back in 1956 when live TV was in its infancy, he understood its power. On a BBC programme, he deliberately let his show run overtime so that his assistant would be left cut in half by a giant hacksaw blade. It was all a trick of course but people thought they had seen someone murdered on their TV screens. The BBC had to issue a clarification but the story made the front pages, and his career never looked back.
A lot of his magic wasn’t considered that great but then he started elaborate and sophisticated stage productions with palaces, elephants on hire, music, dance and numerous assistants.
What place does magic have in the digital age?
Though it’s getting tougher for street magicians to survive, magic won’t die. Seeing a skilled magician do even the simplest of tricks instills a sense of wonder and makes us question what is real. This is something that will always resonate deeply even in this digitised and disenchanted world.
