Preeth, Oshiya win Eco-magic competitions

Silk for ecosystem, umbrella for warming globe: Oshiya R.A., (left) who won the first prize in Junior category and P. Preeth, who was adjudged the first in Seniors, perform at the Eco-Magic Competitions held at the Wonder World auditorium of the Magic Academy on 20th of June.

Thiruvananthapuram: Would you like to get your water bill for Rs.1000 slashed down to Rs.90? Do you want your power consuming electric bulbs replaced with power saving CFLs? This and more is possible, but only at the swish of magician P. Preeth’s magic wand. At the eco-magic competitions held today under the joint auspices of the Magic Academy and the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, Mr. Preeth was showing how an eco-friendly lifestyle can not only save money, but also cool the warming globe. He was adjudged first in the senior category.

27-year-old Mr. Preeth is having congenital disability in speaking and hearing. When majority of the contestants spoke a lot to establish a point, he was just relying upon mime and magical visuals that appeared and disappered on the magic stage. He is currently working as an animator with a Technopark firm.

Within the 8 minutes given, 20-year-old nursing student and magician, Abhinraj impressively showed the past, present and future images of the world. He won second prize by symbolically presenting, the huge glaciers of the past, slender ones of today and swarming water that would surround the world tomorrow.

Runners up: Abhinraj, Seniors (left) and Amogh B.J., Juniors.

In the junior category, the first prize was won by a 12-year-old girl magician from Kozhikode, Oshiya. Her magic invited everyone’s attention to pertinent issues including mosquito control and prevention of diseases. Second prize went to 13-year-old magician B.J. Amogh of Thiruvananthapuram. Jury comprised of magicians M.P. Sadasivan and Somasekharan Nair. The Academy’s Executive Director, Gopinath Muthukad presented mementos and certificates for the winners.

Earlier an environmental awareness talk was delivered by Prof. E. Kunhikrishnan from the Department of Zoology, University Collete. Honorary Director of the Academy, Chandrasenan Mithirmala talked on the ways of using magic for environmental awareness.

Prize distribution: Winners of the Eco-magic competitions receive memento and certificates from the Executive Director of the Magic Academy, Gopinath Muthukad as Honorary Director of the Academy R. Raja Moorthy; jury members, M.P. Sadasivan and Somasekharan Nair look on.

From left: Oshiya R.A. (first, Jrs.); P. Preeth (First, Srs.); Amogh B.J. (Second, Jrs.) and Abhinraj (Second, Jrs.).