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My father wanted me to be a fulltime magician. I tried to fulfil his desire, but ‘flew’ off course. Magic became secondary to flying. However, I never lost sight of my father’s wish and knew I would one day fly back to what has been the Sorcars’ trade for eight generations. This possibility lay in the future, but I wanted to be prepared for it. First of all, I had to marry someone who could assist me when I returned to performance magic. I thought Chitra, my classmate at the Calcutta University, could be my partner on and off stage.

But she turned down my proposal. Soon after, I took a plane from the Bengal Flying Club and did a secret sortie around her house. With the air of someone revealing a supernatural mystery, I told her there was a crack on the roof of her house. Her eyes popped out, “How did you know that? You must have stolen into my house at night!” I said I flew over it. The next day, I circled her house while she and her sisters were watching me. To scare them, I switched off the engine and glided out of their view. They thought I had crashed somewhere. Next day in the classroom, I could sense her relief at seeing me aliveagain. Mission accomplished!

For the first few years, I played the woman in his ‘Cutting the Lady in Half’ act. During that period, I was careful not to argue with him over anything! As I am trained in Bharatanatyam and he in Kathak, we choreograph our shows together. And, monitor and take care of all the female artistes. Although I shoulder a lot of responsibilities, I know I can never occupy the centre stage for obvious reasons. But I used to nurture an ambition to perform a magic act, while he stood by watching. My big chance came during a trip to Japan. At a mega mall, I went on a buying spree. When the bill arrived, he was searching for his wallet in vain. It was not in his bag. After letting out a string of incomprehensible sounds, I pulled the wallet out of my bag. The shopkeepers, who knew my husband as a magician, thought I was a magician too. Want to know how I did it? Before leaving our room, I had quietly slipped the wallet into my bag when I realised he had forgotten all about it.

As told to

PRINCE FREDERICK

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