Learn to weave magic at Rabindra Bharati University

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 16, 2007
Magical mystery tour, anyone? For the first time in India, there will soon be an institutionalised course on magic at Rabindra Bharati University! And, not breaking the spell, in a couple of years, a full-fledged university on magical arts!
Well-known magician P C Sorcar (Junior) is the man behind both these initiatives. To begin with the magic course at Rabindra Bharati will be a paper in the drama course offered by the university. Sorcar has also coined a term for the course, ‘Dramagic’. Later on it will floated as a full-fledged undergraduate honours programme by the university. “I am in the process of writing down the syllabus and structure the course. Everyone close to me including my daughters are helping me out in this process,” Sorcar said.
The course will have various aspects to it. There will be modules dealing with open-air magic; the module on theatrical magic will deal with the use of magic in a theatre production. This will be followed by onstage magic and finally there will be a module on close up magic, which are tricks done by hands. “We were scheduled to begin the course this year but due to some unavoidable problems we will not be able to begin it before the 2008 session,” said Santosh Gharui, registrar of Rabindra Bharai University.
Talking about why he decided to teach magic to people Sorcar said, “The objective of all my initiative is not only to help people learn magic but love and respect it as an art. They should not equate it to necromancy or superstition. But that cannot be done unless people know about the science behind it and that is what I want to do by teaching magic to others.” “In a land, where ancient shastras teach us that the ‘real’ or physical world is actually ‘maya’ or illusion, the course on magic will teach students that they should trust their eyes and follow the logic behind everything that happens,” he added.
Talking about his dream of opening a university of magical arts Sorcar said, “I have some land at Baruipur and would open the university their. This first of its kind university will be built without any help from any government.” Sorcar is already taking to various magicians to become part of the faculty.
But even before the course at Rabindra Bharati starts or his dream university takes shape Sorcar wishes to start a certificate course on magic for children up to 14-years of age. “This course will not only help them to learn small magic tricks but it will aim at making the kids aware that magic is an art form and it is based on science, there is nothing supernatural about it,” he said.
Sorcar does not have the fear of losing popularity by teaching the magic tricks and breeding new magicians. “Magic is an art. If a very big artist teachers painting to others no one can take away his masterstroke away in the same way even if I teach magic to the whole world the artist in me will continue to exist and perform.”
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