Three days of Magic!

Magician Adv. Hariraj

Ernakulam: The bustling urban roads of Kochi and Tripunithura squiggle away in to the village of Kandanad. Suddenly there is peace, silence, and serenity all around; as if one is magically transported in to another world. The land strips itself of the metro ornamentation and concrete costume, and wear a lush green outfit, as though it is a magician all dressed up for the stage. Here, in this beautiful green grove, is “Palazhi”, a picturesque farmhouse wedged between paddy fields and other plantations. It is here that about thirty magicians, all of whom who had their first steps in to magic through the Magic Academy, Kochi Centre, came together for a three day Magic Camp. 

The camp opened with the inspiring words from Sri. Chandrasenan Mithrumala, the Director, Academy of Magical Sciences. He then took the team through the nuances of ‘perplexo cut’. The first day concluded with dazzling performances by Kum. Sreelakshmi Shankar, Master A.V. Vishnudas and Sri. John Mampilly. After the performance, the participants critically evaluated the performance and gave tips and suggestions to improve the acumen of the showmen.

On the second day, there were again performances, classes and shows. The day was filled with magic from every single participant. Gala shows from Rohan, Adarsh, Harikrishnan, Jayaram, Vishal, Unni and Ajith Kumar were the highlights. The entire day was spent in seeing and performing magic. The camp events went on as late as 9:30 PM and we thought the participants would call it a day. But nay, the vivacity of not a single soul was dampened. The camp kept aside magic for a while, and sat together with music and poetry for another couple of hours. We found out to our amazement that many of the magicians are capable of performing magic with their throat as well as they perform with hands. 

Some time beyond mid-night, people literally “fell asleep”. One would have expected the morning to dawn late the next day, especially for the children. Many of the parents had warned the organisers that their wards are late risers, and one has to bring heavens down to wake them in the morning. But, amazing everyone, the younger minds were awake earlier than all others. The next day swung to action at their instance with more magic. The day was marked with the gala performance by Sri. Sabu K.K and workshop by Sreekanth Namboothiri on mentalism. 

Late in to the afternoon, the most awaited face reached the campsite; none other than our Guru, Sri. Gopinath Muthukad. He brought along a bonus, Sri. Raj Kalesh, who was famous in Kochi for his Food Shows on TV. To our surprise and amazement, we discovered he was a Magician too. The ingenuity of Magician Sreekanth flashed in a moment, and he performed an amazing food magic with Sri. Raj Kalesh to assist him. Sri. Sreekanth proved that a prepared magician is the best magician. 

Sri. Gopinath Muthukad could create magic with his presence alone. He spent a lot of time interacting freely with the participants, talking about everything, magic, performance, career, childhood, parenting and what not. 

Then came the hardest part, to bid goodbye. We found that most of the participants lingered around the camp long after all the functions were over. The parents had to coax their wards to return. Every participant left with a word that we must again have such a camp soon.

The camp was organised under the joint auspicious of the Muthukad’s Magic Academy, Kochi Centre, and Magic Academy Alumni Groups in Kochi(MAGIK). If one is to be asked what was most amazing magic in the camp, he would say it was the camp itself. The Principal of the Academy and the Secretary of the Alumni being the same person, Sri. Sreekumar Thirumulpad, it was practically a camp organised single handed. One cannot stop talking of the camp without appreciating and adoring the efforts of Sri. Sreekumar, who keeps his age a mesmerizing secret and claims to be 17 for the last four years. The bewilderment he causes by keeping the constant calm temper and smile while ensuring that the programme goes on undaunted is unparalleled. His attention to detail is what made the camp a memorable and pleasant experience to everyone. Here on record is the overwhelming gratitude of everyone to this most unassuming leader of the Magic Academy, Kochi Centre. 

Palazhy belongs to Sri. Prakash P.K., Alumni of the Magic Academy. The very venue, as noted earlier was magic. We all thank Sri.Prakash for being our host for the most wonderful three days of our life thus far. Then there are many names which come to our mind like M/s Noby Antony, Ajith Kumar etc. who made this a memorable experience for all. 

The co-operation from the parents of the children who participated in the camp is worth special mention. They are the Magic behind the magic. They are the inspiration, and their perspiration is the reason. Hats off to every one of them for making this camp a reality.