An Indo-Italian magic tribute

Indo-Italian Magic Delight organised by the Magic Academy in association with State Bank of Travancore Staff Recreation Club (SBTSRC) became an exceptional ‘Gurupooja’ (veneration to a master) for the forefather of Kerala magic, late Vazhakunnam Neelakantan Namboodiri. Sharing the stage, unveiling the best of their talents in veneration of Vazhakunnam, were four Indian magicians and four from Italy representing the cultural organisation 'Iannatampe'.
Inspiration for the Italian team lead by 27-year-old Piston Giuseppe was a video docu-fiction they happened to watch on the legendary magic guru, conceived and directed by magician Gopinath Muthukad.
Elements of entertainment

Elements of theatre, drama, comedy and proficient juggling were dominant during the Italian part of the show. The role of the magician’s blind assistant played well by Iacono Danniele, the youngest in the four-member team, was a reason for the audience to burst into laughter. The lone female presence in the team, Mugavero Elisabetta appeared in a traditional Indian ‘churidar’ and demonstrated juggling of batons with amazing skill. In between, she was vanished into thin air by the chief magician, but only to get reappeared from an empty glass box at the wave of the national flags of India and Italy. Whenever the flags were waved, the audience reciprocated with huge applause. For the climax, the Italians had an attractive jamboree of magic mixed with extraordinary juggling of wheels using strings and a nimble gyration of two long reed poles at the tip of their fingers.
Indian partAlso sharing the stage was T.B. Haridas (Thrissur) and S. Akarsh (Kozhikode) respectively the Senior and Junior category toppers of the recently concluded Vazhakunnam memorial all Kerala magic competitions. Magician with a hearing impairment, P. Preeth and teen prodigy Abhinraj were the Academy’s representation on the stage. Close-up magic maestro Rajamoorthy’s magical way of compeering grabbed audience praise.
Honouring magicians

The event was inaugurated by the Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, C. Divakaran. The Minister presented mementos to Mr. Haridas and Mr. Akarsh in honour of their achievements. The Chief General Manager of the SBT, Pradeep Shankar who gave the keynote address felicitaed the Italina magician with Magic Academy medals.

Author, George Onakoor presided over the function and Mr. Muthukad gave introductory speech. General Secretary of the SBTSRC, C. Mohandas welcomed the gathering. Magician Chandrasenan Mithirmala paid vote of thanks.