A TALK WITH KING OF JADU- JADUGAR ANAND

We've featured the Indian magician Mr. Anand in the past for his skill as a performer and ability to generate interest in his show and magic in general. Daijiworld took considerable time and care with their feature on this great magician from India. Plus it has a great hook: Mr. Anand is the Fastest Magician on the Planet. Anyone can make an elephant disappear quickly, but how many can make it appear in a matter of seconds. He makes the Statue of Liberty disappear in slow motion, a trick performed for the first time in India. His world of illusion has been hailed by audiences and critics alike as one of the greatest magic shows of Asia, which is not merely performing tricks but creating miracles beyond your wildest imaginations. One can watch in awe as the Jadugar cuts a girl in half using high speed electric saw blade. Pigeons fly out of seemingly empty baskets, a dog goes into a box and out emerges a girl. Jadugar Anand's set of new tricks include passing through a rotating fan mounted on a table, girl balancing on a bamboo pole. He even brings an elephant onto the stage, much to the amusement of children. Girls floating and vanishing in mid air, birds appearing from his fingertips and many more breath taking illusions are what Anand offers. Appropriately the first question dealt with the state of Magic in India today. Viju: What is the present status of magic in India? Anand: It's indeed sad that there are no many takers for magic, which has still to be accepted as an art, rather than a mere entertaining profession. Between the two performing art forms held high globally are the Russian Circus and Indian Magic. But the younger generation has to be motivated to take up magic. Viju: As the All-India Magic Federation national president you have been in the forefront in the campaign to set up an academy for magic. Why and how far have you progressed? Anand: There is a need to form an academy for magicians, as this will help those from the new generations to learn the art. People should know more about this art as it could help get rid of many superstitions that exist in society. Every year, around 1,000 people get killed in our country because of misconceptions and superstitions related to black magic. The formation of an academy will help people have a clearer idea about magic and also encourage youngsters to learn the art. The ground is ready for the formation of an academy in Jaipur and setting up an academy in Bangalore is also on cards. Mr. Anand believes Magicians are neglected in India and need to be encouraged by the government . He commends the Government of Karnataka for not imposing entertainment tax on magic shows. "However, government policies have not been encouraging and we don't even have an academy to teach the art to our future generations." If there is anyone who can help bolster Magic's place in India, it is Mr. Anand. It may not be done in the blink of an eye, but it will happen if Mr. Anand is involved.

Interview with Anand Jadugar

Interview with Anand Jadugar Indian Magician Jadugar Anand is in the news once again. The New India Press has coverage of his most recent set of shows in Shimoga. In addition to the magic he's successfully brought to thousands in and out of India, Mr. Anand hopes to bring attention to the plight of magicians within the country. Mr. Anand told reporters, "India stands at ninth place in the world ranking in Magic! Yet, the government had not given any recognition to this art. Magic too is an art. But, Government has not identified and encouraged it, as done to music, dance or drama." Mr. Anand is the president of the All India Association of Magicians. His organization boasts 16,000 members and yet believes its numbers have not been properly recognized by the Indian government. "Only thing government had done for us is it has reduced the entertainment tax, We do not have extraordinary demands. Give same facilities to us as given to other arts," Mr. Anand said. Faithful readers of Quinlan's Inside Magic will recall Mr. Anand's efforts in the past few years to not only bring Magic to the Government's attention but to improve society's view of Magic as a profession. Mr. Anand observed, "There is a invisible screen between society and magic. No parent will allow his or her children to pursue a career in magic." The trade association is in the process of starting their Academy of Magic at Jaipur and if the Indian Government will provide assistance, they hope to build a second Academy in Bangalore. How bad is it for magicians in India? Mr. Anand told the New India Press he has seen "many magicians who died of hunger." The All India Association provides medical and other support to members to help combat this life-and-death struggle. Mr. Anand pointed to France's use of Rober Houdin's skills to arrest an impending revolution in Algeria. His message: it worked for France because they appreciated the power of the art form and encouraged its development. Magician Anand has a post-graduate degree in English and his son received his MBA and still performs with the show. Thus far, Mr. Anand has put on about 450 shows in Kamataka plus another 2,000 shows in Southern India. He intends to continue his push for Government support for Magic and magicians as he continues his tour.

Anand Jadugar- Performed magic show at hari hara kala bhavan, Secunderabad!
He probably can create money out of thin air. However, people are only too willing to pay him. You will be, too, if you read all he can do. Jadugar Anand was back again this year too, performed two shows daily from 5th April to 18th May, at the Hari Hara Kala Bhavan. The first show started at 4:00pm and the second one at 7:00pm. Anand’s show in Hyderabad kickstarted on 25th March with a fire escape show at NTR Stadium by his son Akash, a member of Anand’s crew. Akash performed the stunt, wherein he was chained with 20 locks and thrown into a hige burning haystack. He came out of the flames after releasing himself from the chains, unscratched. This stunt was followed by blindfolded bike rides in the city, covering 21 kilometres from Hari Hara Kala Bhavan via Sangeet Theatre, Mettuguda, Tarnaka, OU campus, RTC X Roads, Koti, Nampally, Tank Bund, Ranigunj and Paradise, back to Hari Hara Kala Bhavan. The stunt was performed to highlight safe driving and create traffic awareness. Jadugar Anand is the President of the All-India Magic Federation, which has nearly 60,000 members from among professional and amateur magicians and magic lovers. He has over 28,000 shows to his credit, all over the world. A professional for 36 years, Anand has travelled far and wide. Over the years he has innovated a lot of tricks and earned the reputation of being the fastest magician in the world. Anand hails from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. He learnt hypnotism from spiritual guru Rajneesh (Osho), who also hails from the same place. He learnt magic at the age of 7, apparently inspired by street magicians, who used to get him laddoos from nowhere. Anand has performed many new magic tricks, including making the Statue of Liberty and the Taj Mahal disappear, making an elephant appear from thin air, and bringing characters of movies alive from the screen and sending them back. During the month-long show, get to see some stunning tricks from the colorful mayalok of the Jadugar.

Jadugar Anand is the biggest name amongst Magicians of India

Jadugar Anand is the biggest name amongst Magicians of India. The largest troop with the biggest infrastructure, and maximum success. One of the only few magic shows in India, who travel on constant basis, performing eleven months a year. No other magician can match the lightings, stage set-up, illusion size and presentation. The only Indian Magician who has performed successfully in almost every city of India from North to South, with an amazing success, which remains a dream for any other magician. Jadugar Anand is the most trusted and revered name in the Magic Field of India. Along with his son Akash, Jadugar Anand's show is a perfect blend of Illusion show and Escapology. Jadugar Anand is certainly the No.1 Magician of India. What is magic? It is a pleasing and amusing art of skill and practice where the laws of nature are seemingly set aside for the sake of innocent entertainment", says magician, Jadugar Anand a world famous magician. To make arrangements for his debut appearance in Colombo, he says, he must have at least 40 shows on twenty consecutive days, at two shows per day; but lack of infrastructural facilities is a frustrating road block. "I went to the BMICH and asked them whether I could book their main hall for twenty days but it was not possible for them to give it for more than four consecutive days. "I will try to find some other venue", he laments.You ask him why he wants the same venue, and he spells out the reasons. "I have six managers and 90 artistes. I also have five container loads of equipment, and moving this equipment from one venue to another would be a huge problem," he explains.One would not be faulted for coupling Jadugar Anand's name without Harry Houdini's, who is one of the world's greatest magicians. For not only has Anand beaten Houdini's record of 'escape from the box in the sea', he has also three world records under his belt.In the 'escape from the box in sea,' Anand's hands were manacled and legs were bound, and he was immersed into the sea and asked to escape. Houdini took 6 minutes.P. C. Sorkar, renowned for his great Indian rope trick broke Houdini's record and escaped in 90 seconds. But Anand escaped in a mere 40 seconds, creating a new record.When this writer was interviewing him at his Kollupitiya hotel suite, we were constantly interrupted as local magicians who had heard of his presence in Colombo, walked in and offered sheafs of betel leaves and worshipped him and expressed their respect for this great magician. Anand is one of India's national treasures and has been the National President of India's Magic Federation for the last nine years.Magic is a pleasing entertainment, but among many people there is a wrong notion that magic is to entertain children. That is wrong. I love an audience who wants to probe every act and find out the secrets of how an act could be possible. I would love to teach anybody the secrets, if they are willing to learn and practice.Speed, practice and ability to divert the mind in a different direction are the secrets, says Anand who demonstrates by stretching out his left hand, and explaining that the audience would be concentrating on his left hand and thus fail to observe what his right hand was doing, where the so called magic is really performed.If one has to be a perfect magician he has to learn meditation and hypnotism. Some performances are carried out after hypnotising the subject. Some acts like making a subject to raise in the air without any support could be done only through hypnotism, he says.According to Anand in India stage plays are a flop, and people are glued to the TV or prefer the movies, but magic shows, he says still continue to attract large crowds.This is so not only in India, but all over the world. Indian magicians, he adds had earned over a million dollars last year alone.He says his projected first show in Sri Lanka, which he hopes to have before the end of the year, probably in August, would be entirely for the benefit of the tsunami victims in this country.There is an academy for magicians run by Anand in India where his students study and practice. But keep in mind studying alone won't help. Regular practice is what would make a student perfect; he points out.The art of performance and misdirecting the audience makes magic very deceptive. But to Anand it is a thrilling and interesting profession and certainly no cakewalk. It is team work with around 90 people who are involved in making the show a hit.They take up various responsibilities and the success of the show depends on their coordination. It is like a mega film production and involves the selection of the venue, publicity, ticket sales, stage designing, lights, costumes and so on, he says, adding that once the show starts, there has to be a minimum break between any two items. All this is taken care of by a well planned and precise team. But all the sweat and struggle, tension and toil is forgotten, the moment he hears the applause of the crowd. That is a very satisfying reward and it truly makes our day, he says.Asked why he meditates, he says that it is very important to sustain the interest level for every show. If he were to lose interest in the performance, the audience would sense it immediately and lose interest in watching the show. Therefore it is important to remain motivated and charged for each performance, and this is where the meditation part of it comes.He shows some video clippings termed 'mayalok'. They are amazing and enthralling, and somewhat like challenging nature when a girl is placed inside a box, her hands in one place, legs somewhere else, and the head swinging up and down the length of her body. In another performance, where gravity seems of no consequence, he raises a girl up in the air without any support and makes her vanish in to thin air.Beautiful girls swing in the air, revolve in the air, and float in the air. In another show he calls a she-elephant to walk to the stage and makes her vanish bewildering the audience. Why a she-elephant, you ask?. Because as he explained, once, when a male was invited to the stage it was in musk. One could imagine how he would have looked. After this incident which sent ripples of laughter in the audience, Anand decided to stick only to female elephants, whom he calls 'my girl friend'.Anand's 26,000 shows are now being enumerated by the Guinness Book of Records. It is a big task for the authorities to trace the records of the 26,000 shows. And another record is riding a motorbike blindfolded from Indore to Bhopal, a distance of 200 KM in 210 minutes. Anand hails from Jabalpur in Madyapradesh, India, and urges the authorities to include magic as a subject in the university curriculum to save this dying art.

Akash Awashti-The magician - Fire Escape

Akash Awashti-The magician - Fire Escape!!
Blazing sun. Blazing fire. The heat was on at the Grounds where Jadugar Anand's team came up with a sensational fire escape act. Tied up with a chain and locked (not one or two locks, but 25), Akash came out of a haystack on fire, unscathed and unchained.
That's magic for you.
In his mid 20s, Akash is said to have created a record of sorts in the world of magic. Chained shoulder down by a 25-foot chain and fastened by 25 locks, Akash was lifted upside down by a crane and put in the middle of the wigwam-like haystack.
Two fire engines and ambulances, which were stationed in case of any eventuality, went abuzz with their sirens. Tension was building up. Jadugar Anand's team set fire to the haystack and in no time it was blazing. But before one could blink one's eyes, Akash was out of the burning haystack, unchained and unharmed. The team members wrapped him in a blanket and brought him on to the stage to a round of applause.