“Magic is not a dying art. It is only our ability to perceive magic that might fade. And if that fades, it is the death of innocence and hope,” says PC Sorcar Jr. But as we are to learn, innocence and hope are still alive. And there is no better example than Provas Chandra himself.
His face lights up on the mention of magic. “Magic is in my blood,” he says. “Magic has been practiced in my family for the last eight generations,” he adds.
Sorcar learnt his magic from his father. “I learned my first trick when I was 10. I remember it like it was yesterday. The first trick I learnt was the vanishing coin trick,” he says and conjures a coin out of thin air. “Surprised?” he asks. I nod. “This is just the beginning,” he says. Sorcar often performs the trick where he disappears from the stage and reappears among the audience. “I love it when the kids come to shake hands with me,” he adds.
At 55, Sorcar has visited almost every country in the world. “My favourite is Japan. My father started his international career in Japan and so did I,” says the magician who is also a mathematician. “It was through Maths that I met my wife. We were both pursuing our masters in Calcutta University. We both had a common class. That was where I saw her and we fell in love,” he says.
A little known fact about Sorcar is that he was an aviator as well. “In fact, I got my license from the Madras Flying Club when I was as young as 18,” he says.
It is not just kids but grown-ups too who love magic. “Though people say that they don’t believe in magic, it is obvious that when they bring their kids to the performance, they enjoy as much as the children, if not more,” he says.