Friday 4 January, 2008

Magical Menon in search of ancestral roots

A talented teenage magician exploring magic and forefather's connections in 'God's own country'


Grand at magic: Little magician Grant Menon displays a sleights of hand trick.

Thiruvananthapuram: Grant Menon is a 12-year-old magician from U.S.A., visiting Kerala along with his parents and elder brother. Kerala has been inspiring him due to a couple of reasons. One is that the ‘Menon’ part of his name owes to V.P. Menon, one of his forefathers, who is a Keralite believed to have had served Lord Mount Baton as a secretarial staff long back. Second is that Kerala houses a good number of magicians who propagates magic as an art and science.

Grant’s father Vic Menon works as Assistant Director of Stanford Graduate School, California and mother Denise is an elementary school teacher. During their short sojourn in Kerala, they had tried their best to trace the ancestral connections, but in vain. “We don’t believe there will be much information to be dug out, because my grandfather had left Kerala during his very early life”, says Mr. Vic.

Moments of magic

At the magic hub: (From left) Denis Menon, Victor Menon, Grant Menon and Vincent Menon at Magic Academy.

Though Grant, the little magician could do little magic for re-appearing the ancestral remnants, he enjoyed a fabulous occasion turning the tables at Asia’s first Magic Academy at Poojappura. Gripped by the young magician’s deftness was a group of dignitaries including the Academy’s Executive Director, Gopinath Muthukad; renowned close up magician, Rajamoorthy and Secretary to the Maharaja of Travancore, Ravindran Thampi. His elder brother 15-year-old Vincent Menon and parents joined the spectators.

Grant produced a coin from nowhere and vanished it in between his palms only to regenerate a bigger coin too large for his small palms to hold. He nimbly doubled a single ball within the folded fists of a spectator to win the admiration from Mr. Muthukad. The veteran magician didn’t forget to wish a bright future for the budding magician. “You have got a very special son”, Mr. Ravindran Thampi said to Grant’s beaming parents.

Feast of close up magic
Grant is already an active member of a magic club at John F. Kennedy Middle School where he studies. "We use to teach each other and share newer information at our Club's meetings regularly" he says. In the evening, Grant and his family were offered a grand feast of close up magic tricks by Mr. Rajamoorthy. After relishing the close carnival of hand tricks, Grant talked for a long time enthusiastically about the ways of acquiring more knowledge in the art of amazements.

The debate between him, his parents, brother, Mr. Muthukad and Mr. Moorthy touched almost every aspects of magical learning. There were discussions about almost all dazzling Davids in magic including David Copperfield, David Roth and David Stone.

Carrying a huge lot of love for Kerala in their hearts, the Menon family will leave India on 5th, vowing to come again next year.

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