Street magicians cast a spell

udupi: "bachche log sab bajao taali, jai mahakali kalkattevali, tera vachan na jaye khali" and rat-a-tat goes the rattle in the hand of the filmi madari. but this is not restricted to reel life, there are many such street magicians in indian cities. at `gili gili 2001', udupi's international convention of magicians, the audience was treated to vip delegates from india and abroad."street magicians are the real artistes and performers," says prof. shankar, chief organiser. "they perform without any preparation, whereas professionals require a stage, settings and modern electronic equipment." shankar, who was inspired by street magicians in his childhood, took to the profession, but has still not forgotten the folk on street corners, who keep indian magic alive. samjunath lalanath wadi, a nonagenarian, plays dangerous games -- an expert showman, this magician from dharangadhra of surendranagar district in gujarat, swallows snakes which he frees after a while. the packed rajangana auditorium in udupi watched breathless, as samjunath tricked around with stone, and brought forth venomous cobras and live scorpions from the inners of his mouth. samjunath, who was invited as a special delegate, is a madari belonging to the sixth generation of magicians. samjunath believes in the barter system and usually does not charge money, but is content with food and clothing in exchange for the entertainment. he has travelled the length and breadth of india and performed many a show, including one for megastar amitabh bachchan. samjunath, a coarse-looking old man with no money in his pocket, has an ambition: to unite all indian street magicians under one roof. he claims karnataka minister ramanath rai has honoured him for his performance at gili gili 2001. s.m. sayyad masthan, from honnalli of davanagere district, said he has performed a number of shows in the south. he claims his show requires no preparation: some instant tricks include the vanishing re 1 coin kept in his palm, which is turned to stone. his flower garland turning into a cobra was much appreciated by the late indira gandhi and rajiv gandhi, bangarappa and veerendra heggade. in fact, it was when he was performing in dharmasthala that he met shankar, who invited him for gili gili 2001. fourth in the line of a street magician family, he has no regrets for taking to this trade, though his son can stay out, he says. a proper family man, he has four married daughters. masthan is excited and wants to share his secrets with the other delegates. indian magic lives on the streets with the common man, he says. "magic is a science, and involves a lot of logic. hypnotism and mind-reading play an important role," says charles gauci, a magician from australia. gauci said he draws a clear line between hypnotism for entertainment and for clinical purposes. at 63, he blends the two for a better performance. on the clinical side, he uses hypnosis to treat his patients for anorexia, agrophobia and depression. sports personalities and test cricketers are also his patients. he has conducted lectures on magic throughout the world, running the gamut -- cards, coins, illusion, stage effect and sleight of hand. the australian, who warmed to the people of udupi, has enjoyed his stay in the temple town and is proceeding to kerala.