Mission India: ‘Shade of love’ to instil love for trees

Kerala leg of the national endeavour will have a segment for conservation of trees, too.

Thiruvananthapuram: A programme for instilling love for trees and environment among school children, presented as part of his national endeavour ‘Mission India’ by magician Gopinath Muthukad, will be held in one school in each of the districts in the State.

Named, ‘Snehathanal’ (Shade of love), the awareness magic show is brought out by the Magic Academy with the support of the Kerala Forests and Wildlife Department. ‘Shade of love’ heralds the ideal of growing communal harmony for achieving social amity just like planting trees for getting cool shades. There will be a magic item presented with the participation of school children. Children will plant ‘trees of communal harmony’ one in each school where there is a performance. The Forest Department will provide protective nets for growing trees.

Statelevel inauguration of the event will be performed by the Minister of Forest, Binoy Viswam at 9.30am tomorrow (on 30th of September) at SMV Higher Secondary School. Opposition Leader, Oommen Chandy will preside over the function. Minister of Youth Affairs, V. Surendran Pillai will deliver keynote address. A green plant produced on the magic stage will be handed over to children by poetess Sugathakumari.

Time and venue of the programme from Kollam onwards will be: Kollam (04 October 9.30am), Pathanamthitta (05 October 9.30am), Alappuzha (06 October 9.30am), Kottayam (07 October 9.30am), Idukki (08 October 9.30am), Ernakulam (09 October 9.30am), Thrissur (10 October 9.30am), Palakkad (11 October 9.30am), Malappuram (12 October 9.30am), Kozhikode (13 October 9.30am), Wayanad (14 October 9.30am), Kannur (15 October 9.30am), Kasaragode (15 October 9.30am).

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.).

Magic Academy to organise Eco-Magic competitions

Thiruvananthapuram: With the World Environment Day (WED) falling on 5th of June, the Magic Academy is organising a national convention of Eco Magicians in Thiruvanan- thapuram on 20th of June. Forenoon session comprising of a Seminar and afternoon competitions on magic shows with environmental messages are the major parts of the one-day event.

Competitions

Competitions will be held in senior (age 18 and above) and junior (age 10-17) categories. In each category, only ten contestants who register first will be allowed to compete. Ten minutes time will be provided for each contestant to present the best of their magic shows that give awareness on conservation of environment, water management and plastic proliferation. Shows upholding the theme of this year’s WED, “Many Species. One Planet. One Future” will be duly acknowledged.

Those who are interested may fill in the registration form given aside and submit their entries with a passport size photo and registration fee in the form of a DD drawn in favour of the Magic Academy payable in Thiruvananthapuram so as to reach the Academy’s office on or before 15th of June. Address: Eco Magic Convention, Magic Academy, Poojappura (PO), Thiruvananthapuram 695012. Tel: 0471 2358910. Terms and conditions may be obtained through email: magicacademyindia@gmail.com.

Saluting the Environment

An Environmental Day poster published by the UN.

World Environment Day (WED) is at the door steps. Every year on this particular day, the entire world thinks for the environment. And as days go, our eco-consciousness promptly disappears.

Is environment a factor that we should remember just for a day? Never. Environment is nothing at a distant place. We too are integral part of the environment. Hence the wellbeing of our environment means wellbeing of us, too.

Anything around us, the lifeless and living, our pets to pests, beasts of the wild to winds of the deserts, pebbles on the shore to rocks of a mountain, flowers to seeds – what not, everything is an integral part of our environment. It is a symbiotic bondage between all such factors that has enabled life to thrive over the tests of time and reach unto this point of time. When carbon emission exceeds, our Planet heats up. Ice in the poles melt faster. Water level increases along the coastal lines. No country is exempted from the catastrophic consequences of the climate change.

Hence the call of the time is to reduce harm to every environmental factor and ensure a harmonious relationship between living and nonliving elements around us.
Even as we try this, towering are heaps of wastes, pollutants and hazardous byproducts of human development.

But can we stop all developmental activities for keeping our environment untroubled? Not practical, indeed. Needed is development with a keen concern for bringing lesser harm to the ecology. To live an eco-friendly life is as easy as closing the tap while shaving or brushing. Thus you save water. By using re-usable razors with replaceable blades instead of disposable ones, you contribute against plastic proliferation.

Magic shows are one of the most effective media to make people aware about all these points. Your Planet Needs You – Unite to Combat Climate Change, is the slogan for this year’s WED.

So start performing your part.

[Editorial of Vismayam Magical News dated 23rd May 2009]

Your Planet needs you!

One of the posters supplied by the UN.

Environment is nothing different from our body and soul. Infact each one of us, each living and nonliving element - micro and macro one - is an element of our environment. Hence environmental protection means protection of human race, too. Be part of it. Do at least one activity each day to express your love for this loving, beatiful, inspiring, intriguing, planet - our Mother Earth...

The slogan this year is 'Your Planet Needs You, Unite to Combat Climate Change'.

Magic Academy that already holds the credit of successfully launching, Illusion against Pollusion (2000) Vismay Poothiri for children (2005) and Monsoon Magic (2008) now stands renewing its resolve for this pertinent cause of protecting the environment!

Happy day for Green magicians!

Magic Academy dedicates its 66th PPC for the cause of eco-magic.


Vaidhar Shah

Thiruvananthapuram: Here is a reason for the greens among magicians to remain happy. As part of the World Environment Day, the Magic Academy has decided to dedicate its 66th Perfect Performer Course on 13th of June, for teaching eco-magic. On that day at the Academy, teaching various aspects of magic with environmental messages will be Secretary of the Cochin Magic Society, Vaidhar Shah. Mr. Shah is noted for his self-conceived magic numbers that uphold eco-friendly living.

In the PPC class, he would be sharing some important points on magic for environmental conservation and water preservation. How to design a magic number to expose the danger of plastic proliferation, will also be shown. With slight alteration, any magic can be converted into eco-magic, Mr. Shah believes.

His ambition is to empower his counterparts to succeed with their environmental crusade.

Comprehensive effort needed: Paloli

Kozhikode: While inaugurating the ‘Monsoon Magic’ show in this district’s capital, on 15th June, the Minister of Local Self Government, Paloli Mohammedkutty viewed that a comprehensive effort from the part of the people, was necessary for building a society, free of diseases. “Eco-friendly development needs our synergy”, the Minister added.

Teen magician’s ‘Eco-Magic’ marks Environment Day at Magic Academy

Magician Gopinath Muthukad has shown to the world that magic is a palatable medium for conveying virtuous messages in the society. He has set the ball rolling by performing a nationwide ‘Gandhi Mantra’ and statewide ‘Illusion against Pollution’ upholding Gandhian values and ecological messages.
When World Environment Day was observed solemnly at his Magic Academy on 5th June, quite expectedly, the main attraction became an environmental-awareness generating magic show by one of his young disciples, Abhinraj. 17-year-old Abhinraj’s magic messaged on certain pertinent principles of nature love and environmental conservation.
The magician distributed empty envelops to Kendriya Vidyalaya students who had gathered there to attend the ongoing magic camp. Each envelop carried, one alphabet of the word, ‘pollution’ written over it. Then he inserted strong stainless steel spoons one each into these envelops. Each child was then asked to think about an environmental pollution they knew. After a few seconds, when these spoons were taken out, they were in fully bent and twisted state, leaving the kids dumbfounded. “Environmental degradation turns our life into a shapeless state like this”, the magician announced before the gazing spectators.

Before the show concluded a few more meaningful numbers were staged by the teen magician. This included breaking into pieces and rejoining a vibrant red woolen thread to show how our initiatives could reinstate a degraded environment. To show how the soil gets spoilt by non-degradable plastic wastes, the magician had a trick of vanishing a small piece of red silk inside a bigger green one.
Abhinraj is the first prize winner in the first State-level eco-magic competitions held last year under the aegis of the Magic Academy and the Kerala State Council for Science Technology and Environment. Magician Manu Poojappura spoke on the occasion.