The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Muthukad casts a spell

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Saturday, Nov 24, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Muthukad casts a spell

Staff Reporter

He has been on a journey with his troupe across the country

— Photo:K.R. Deepak

Magician Muthukad in action during a magic show in Visakhapatnam on Friday.

VISAKHAPATNAM: Magician Gopinath Muthukad literally cast a spell on his audience for about two hours with his mesmerizing performance at the Gurajada Kalakshetram on Friday. The programme was organised by the Nair Service Society of Visakhapatnam.

He is here as part of his magical journey, with his 26-member troupe, across the country entitled ‘Vismay Swaraj Yatra’ from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. The journey began on the Dal Lake in Kashmir on October 2 and will conclude at Kanyakumari on November 30.

The show began with a girl locked in a full-length box with her head, palms and feet popping out of it. Her head is moved vertically up and down by the magician while the palms and feet remain in the same position. The gathering watched in horror as her head is then moved in a circular fashion as though it was a doll’s head and the palms and feet are stretched diagonally from one end to the other of the closed box. They watched in disbelief as the box was opened and the girl emerged out of it unscathed.

A girl lies on a bench and she is covered with a bed sheet. As the magician waves his hands in the air, the bed sheet went up in the air till a certain height and remains there. After a few seconds, the magician pulls the sheet and lo…behold…the girl is missing.

A revolving sharp circular blade cuts the body of a girl, who is placed on a table, into two. The severed head and upper part of the body is moved to one end of the stage while the legs are taken to the other end. The two parts are rejoined once again.

Children vied with one another as they were given an opportunity to shake hands with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.

Muthukad’ s lively presentation and speed with which he changed his costumes left many gaping at his agility.

The Vismay Swaraj Yatra, a tribute to the nation on the 150th anniversary of the 1857 War of Indian Independence, has already covered 17 States: Kerala, Karnataka, Maharastra, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, UP, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Nagaland, Jharkhand and Orissa.

The Yatra will reach Vijayawada on Saturday.

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