The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Casting a patriotic spell in the North-East

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Monday, Oct 29, 2007
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Casting a patriotic spell in the North-East

Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A magic show stressing the themes of peace and harmony and the need to unite against terrorism and secessionism was put up by magician Gopinath Muthukad at Kohima on Sunday.

The show was organised as part of the ongoing Vismay Swaraj Yathra organised by Mr. Muthukad and sponsored by the Ministry of Defence, Nehru Yuvak Kendra Sangathan, LIC, and Union bank of India.

Governor of Nagaland K. Shankaranarayanan was the chief guest at the show organised for the public at the Assam Rifles ground, a press note issued from Kohima said. The governor’s wife, Radha Shankaranarayanan, was also present on the occasion.

The magician and his team have taken up their mission with artistic dedication and patriotic resolve. This was worthy of emulation, the governor said.

The show ended with the magician’s troupe shouting patriotic slogans and waving the national flag. This evoked enthusiastic responses from the audience that included native tribal people, the press note said. Mr. Shankaranarayanan later presented Mr. Muthukad with a ‘ponnada’ at a ceremony organised at the Raj Bhavan.

On October 30, the Vismay Swaraj Yathra will move on to Dimapur where a magic show will be put up at a site connected with the Ahom Kochari kings.

The performance will seek to spread the message of peace at a place where fighting between various separatist groups were a common occurrence.

The yathra had staged magic shows with patriotism as the underlying theme at various army camps at Siliguri and Guwahati.

The Yathra will conclude at Kanyakumari on November 30, the press note added.

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