Guess what’s inside the magician’s baggage? “It’s a rabbit...”, “yea, I know, a hat...” The little ones gathered in-front of Markus gushed out their ideas. Any other surmise? “Secrets”, somebody made it right. The German magician’s heavy suit case had lot many secrets patiently resting inside. They popped out one by one, as ropes, rubber bands and cards. He demystified the secrets with his deft and timely finger movements before the kids. Markus Zink was conducting a magic workshop for school students at the Goethe-Zentrum in the city the other day.
A fun-filled ride to the wonder-world of magic turned a novel experience for many a kid who have been passionately keeping magic close to their hearts for long. They watched in awe how magic can combine three pieces of rope in different length in just one “dudududooo...”, the background vocal sung by the magician while performing. He holds them in the air and in few twists and turns, for much bewilderment, the ropes are one! The wonder doesn’t stop here. He spun around both the ends of the ‘new rope’ like the helicopter fan, and they join together making a full circle! It was followed by the learning session, where they were taught to perform the tricks.
Before moving to other tricks, it was a fun time for Markus to learn the name of his new disciples. Tongue-twisting Indian names made it difficult for him to utter with utmost precision. When he repeated ‘Devaki’ as “they walkie” a mischievous brat from behind commented “walkie-talkie”. When he called Brahmesh ‘bremish’ and Kamal ‘Camel’, the entire group burst into laughter. In the chaotic scene, the familiarity with few foreign names like Alan, Dimple and Sandra turned a huge relief for Markus.
It was interesting to watch the rubber-band and card tricks he presented. The escape of a ‘trapped’ rubber band in a “dudududooo...” was looked upon with astonishment by the children. When this trick was over, he shifted to cards. It was another wonder to see ‘catapult’ card ‘Hari’ (fondly named so) jumping out from the middle of a set of cards. In another breathtaking trick, the kids got to watch a signed card kept in the middle appear on top of a pack of cards in the blink of an eye. When the session was over, the “secret brothers and sisters” also had their bags filled with secrets. More than thirty school students participated in the workshop.