A silent ride with a vociferous cause

With his versatile dexterity dominating over deformity, magician Preeth triumphs with a blindfold motorbike riding.

Preeth, getting his blindfold motorbike ride started,as Gopinath Muthukad, his master clears the way.

Thiruvananthapuram: It was a vociferous blindfold act from the valley of silence to open the eyes of the society. When 26-year-old magician Preeth bearing a congenital hearing impairment readied for the trick, many eyebrows raised in disbelief. Yet stubborn, were his masters from the Magic Academy, including Gopinath Muthukad.
The show meant for making city dwellers sensitize on traffic rules, was held under the aegis of the City Traffic Police.
At 12 noon on 7th February, as the city stood sweltered in sunlight, its chief artery in front of the Government Secretariat was made a starting point for the magical ride. The Minister of Home, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan; M.L.A., V. Sivankutty; Inspector General of Police, Arunkumar Sinha; City Police Commissioner, Ravada Chandrashekhar; Traffic Assistant Commissioner, Mohanan Nair and a number of other officials were present at the shade of a wayside tree.


Minister of Home, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan checking to his satisfaction, thick pad used for blindfolding.

At first it was the master's magic on Minister's hand. To establish that if you uphold traffic rules, road accidents will not occur to hurt your limbs, Mr. Muthukad tried a chopping magic on the hands of the Minister. Minister's hand, holding a traffic awareness placard was placed beneath a Chinese sword. The sword though it was so sharp to cut a cucumber into many pieces in a single sway, could do little harm to the VIP's hand. "See if you uphold traffic rules, there is no harm", was the message given by the magic number.
The air getting charged in magic, it was now the Minister's turn to inspect the thick dark clothe used for blindfolding Mr. Preeth's eyes. Mr. Balakrishnan placed the dark rag over his own eyes and said, "Nothing is seen". The dark mask was now wrapped around the face of the young magician throwing him into a state of immobilizing sightlessness. To prove that there was no magic to protect your head, a helmet was then duly fitted on the blind magician's head. With the help of his aides, chiefly his masters, Mr. Preeth managed to sit over his bike. Now as the Minister waved a green flag, the blindfolded motorist put his two-wheeler on its gears. The magical ride began with a host of journalists, escorting policemen and laymen escorting it from both sides and at time from in front.
Not with a great speed, but without getting the heavy traffic restricted, the blindfold motorbike riding progressed smoothly. People thronged on two sides of the main road with many of them getting their jaws down at the awesome sight. At Gandhi Park, hardly 1.5 kilometers away from the starting point, the magical trip came to a successful close. Mr. Preeth was then given a trophy by the Police Commissioner. In the following hours, the act became a talk of the town. The question, 'if a blindfolded Preeth can do it safely, why can't you ride vehicle safely on the city roads?' became an inspiring question to many.

Animated moments: Preeth along with father Dr. K.N. Pavithran (right)soon after the magic feat.

Preeth, who is already a diploma holder in Electronics, now works as a multimedia animator at Sherston Educations Software Pvt. Ltd. at the Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram. During his spare time, he uses to wear the coat of a magic teacher at the Magic Academy.