The Hindu : Master of magic

By VIKAS KUMAR

Weaving magic is no sweat for him.

MANGALORE

He can juggle billiard balls, and do tricks with playing cards with such consummate ease that can put many of the senior magicians to shame. The teenager from Mangalore Master Samarth, who has now etched a place for himself, took to the world of magic when he was 13. Samarth has been perfecting himself in magic that largely relies on skill. He secured the first place in the senior division of `Garudi 2003' at the All Karnataka Magicians convention at Bangalore organised by noted magician Prahlad Acharya in association with the Karnataka Government.

According to Samarth, an hour of practice in front of the mirror has made him perform better. But what interests him are the competitions. It is easy to feel great performing in front of audiences and not realise how technically flawed the performance could be. But in competitions, marks are deducted for the slightest mistake and hence there is a desire to perform flawlessly. Organising such competitions will go a long way in helping many talented magicians, he says.

Samarth has visied Switzerland, Paris, Germany and Italy, along with the European Circus company `Robiano' and learnt a lot. It was this trip that gave him an exposure to the European style of magic. Samarth calls the European style as a gentleman style — there is no bending of the body, there are no fast movements of the hands or the body to confuse the onlooker and there is only poise and refinement.

Samarth will be featured soon on `Kuch Kar Dikhana Hain' that will be aired sometime shortly. He knows there is still a long way to go, but is all the more determined to make it there in style.

Saturday, Feb 22, 2003