The nip in the air is palpable, so is the gradual coming of the much-awaited winter. The summer and the heat have had a rather lengthy spell this year. Hopefully, that is coming to an end, and the merry cold season is going to take over. And as soon as there is a dip in the mercury, young and old of this city happily trace, among other joyful paraphernalia of this season, that their city has begun to be mesmerised by spells of magic and illusion. A Prospero has arrived, and he is drawing crowds by the hundreds with his scintillating indrajal skills. The teeming audience stares spellbound at the grand spectacle of the vanishing of the giant Statue of Liberty or gapes at the coming alive of an Egyptian mummy thanks to the spectacular art and skills of the magic maestro OP Sharma Junior. Apart from traditional tricks like converting a handkerchief into a bird or bringing out laces or flowers from an empty vase or can, there are many innovative demonstrations of hypnotic or tantalising razzmatazz that are simply stunning to say the least. The show offers thrilling presentations like the “Drill of Death”, “Tilasmi Ghada of Kamarupa” and “Sliced Lady of America.” The ace indrajal entertainer OP Sharma Jr is reminding old-timers of this city of those days, decades back, when the enjoyment of winter could not be complete without a visit to a magic show. Sharma’s arrival in the city has breathed new life into Kolkata’s tryst with indrajal and illusion. The arch wizard’s shows have been running houseful for the last few days at Mahajati Sadan, and the big cutouts of the magician at the front gate take visitors and passersby down the memory lane to the mind-boggling world of make-believe invoked by legends of the golden era of Indian magic.

The family of OP Sharma is synonymous with magic and make-believe. Hailing from Ballia in Uttar Pradesh, OP Sharma Senior had been active in the magic world for more than fifty years until his death in 2022. By that time, he held the world record of 41,000 magic shows in India and abroad. All four of his children have made important contributions in advancing the cause of magic and modernising this ancient art form. O P Sharma Jr or Satya Prakash Sharma, is the second son of the famed magician, and he too had a special passion for magic and mystery since childhood. After completing his education in mechanical engineering, Satya Prakash decided to carry forward the legacy of his illustrious father. His first professional show was in 1990. Due to his resemblance to his father in body language, dazzling costume, oratorical ebullience, and many other qualities, magic connoisseurs began to call him O P Sharma Junior. For a fairly long period, the father-son duo took Indian magic to new heights and induced innovative skills and techniques into their performances. Not only have the Sharmas enthralled and delighted millions through their mesmerising presentations, but they have also contributed a lot to saving the dying art form from the verge of extinction. But worries still exist, and Sharma Jr is well aware of them. The magicians and magic shows seem anachronistic at a time when people are glued to internet-based entertainment, and smartphones are believed to hold the key to all vistas of unwinding oneself. Who will venture to go to a magic show and have the patience to indulge in the old-world charm of namby-pamby and hypnotism? Who will waste money on an art that thrives on what is not? These are real issues before all magicians, and Sharma is no exception. But the illusion artist has confronted not only these digital challenges. Yes, they are challenges, but they do not come overnight. There is time to reset and readjust to the changed scenario, to adopt new technology, and to survive bravely in a new world. But Covid came like a hurricane. It nearly torpedoed all the dreams of the maverick magician. Shows after shows were cancelled, and no compensation was given to him to survive in the tough time. At one time, Sharma almost took the decision to call it quits. But patience paid off, and things began to get normal. Today, more than a hundred artists work in his team, and he is performing in many countries in a bid to spread and demonstrate the greatness of Indian Indrajal art worldwide.

But what makes him different from other greats, including his father? O P Jr. is all praise and respect for his predecessors. In no uncertain terms, he calls his father a superior artist, and to him, P. C. Sorcar (Senior) was a god-gifted genius. They are the true ambassadors of the art and craft of hypnotism and illusion. But Satya Prakash believes that mere excellence is not enough to survive in this fast-changing world. One needs innovation and adaptability. While for Sorcar, a single sherwani was enough to perform the entire show, dazzling dresses in multiple numbers are a bare minimum today for a magician to stay on the stage full-time. So Sharma appears on the stage in diverse apparel, all glitzy and glamorous, to suit the spirit and theme of the particular games of the two-hour-long show. In the Mummy episode, he wears the cloak of an Egyptian nobleman, and in the African part, he puts on the costume of a native tribesman. Moreover, stagecraft in yesteryears was not so complex and elaborate. Humble sets and ordinary lighting sufficed. But times have changed, and sophisticated arrangements have been introduced to present the old art form in a new light. Sharma has taken magic from the level of a cumbersome and dull show to a scintillating spectacle by incorporating modern hypnotic lighting and digital sound. Skill, imagination and smart technology have made Sharma’s shows trendy, innovative and highly entertaining. It is amazing to know that over 200 tonnes of equipment are generally transported to the venue in more than 10 trucks for his show.

For a magician of O P Sharma’s calibre, awards and honours are not a rarity. Like his father, Junior Sharma has bagged many prestigious titles. The Indian Magic Media Circle gave him the “Magic Prince”, and the Magic Academy of India has conferred upon him the “Jadu Gaurav” title. When asked whether magic and the art of illusion have any life left to them, Sharma asserted that magic has no identity crisis in the science-driven world, as his art is not antithetical to scientific explanation. On the contrary, the art of magic can be a tool for fighting against superstition and irrational customs and practices. The ace magician’s aim is to dispel numerous myths about magic and mesmerism, counter fake tantriks who exploit this ancient art form to satisfy their personal gains, and educate people about the glorious legacy of Indian magic. Sharma thinks that initiatives should be taken by the government, both at the state and the Centre to promote the magic art and preserve this ancient cultural heritage of India. OP Sharma and his team will be in the town up to December for their shows that are running daily in two shifts with one extra shift on Saturdays and Sundays. Happy hypnotism!

The writer, a PhD in English from Calcutta University and a freelance writer, teaches English at Sailendra Sircar Vidyalaya, Shyambazar, Kolkata