Anand The Jadugar
World's fastest magician and creator of 3 world records Jadugar Anand performing at Kamarajar Arangam in Chennai
Performance of magic is all about perception. Making impossible possible is impossible. So magicians make the impossible seemingly possible. I had started writing this post nearly a month back, but managed to finish it today. I had gone with my family members to Jadugar Anand’s Magic Show at Kamarajar Arangam near Royapettah, soon after returning from Harish’s new house. Before going inside, I didn’t think much of it. The show was supposed to start by 10 minutes after we parked the car, and even that time the parking lot was near empty! Tickets ranged from Rs.50 to Rs.500, but we decided to settle with a Rs.300 ticket each. We went inside and took our places right in the middle of the 5th row or so.
The show started 15 minutes late and till then music was being played with music reaching nearly the decibel level of an aircraft taking off! Just before it started, I turned around and gasped in surprised that the auditorium was near houseful!!! It started off with a narration on how Anand became a magician. She said that he is the “World’s Fastest Magician” (Don’t ask me what she meant by it, coz I really don’t know!) and went on to say that he holds 3 Guinness World Records!
ABRACADABRA: A file photo of Jadugar Anand and his troupe members in action.
BELLARY: Unlike in movies, artistes come out of the silver screen and then go back. Such a strange experience can be had at Jadugar Anand's "Mayaloka" that commences at Raghava Kala Mandir here on Friday.
Along with this new item, which Mr. Anand calls "projection magic", there are many more breathtaking feats, including the vanishing/appearance of an elephant, disappearance of the Statue of Liberty in slow motion, to enthral the young and old alike for two-and-a-half hours.
Mr. Anand, who has three world records - underwater escape in 40 seconds, riding a motorcycle blindfolded covering a 200-km stretch between Indore and Bhopal in three-and-a-half hours, and telepathy covering a distance of 450 km - to his credit, says that he is on the verge of achieving the fourth by giving 27,000 performances.
Mr. Anand, who is the president of the All-India Magic Federation, told presspersons on Wednesday that his troupe besides entertaining the audience, would also exhibit its social commitment by highlighting social evils such as corruption. Citing an instance, he said riding a two-wheeler blindfolded (which will be performed by his son, Akash, was not merely to gain publicity, but to create awareness on safe driving. He said, "We perform this act with a message to the people that when a blindfolded person can drive without causing harm to himself and others, why can't those with eyes? There were no instances of visually challenged persons getting killed in road accidents. He said, "Magic as profession is interesting, but those who think it is only fun and easy to perform should think again." He attributed the success of his shows to teamwork. Sixty people would take up various responsibilities and the success of the show depended on their coordination, he said. Mr. Anand mooted the idea of setting up an academy for magicians to help the new generation to learn the art. He had been appealing to State governments to extend their support in this regard.
