Is This the “Nautch” Look?

The Deccan
Herald reports this morning on several magicians trying to bring magic back
from the “Glamour” to “the traditional art that originated on India’s streets.”

The imagery of the mythological Indian Rope Trick provides a glimpse of the
mystery and simplicity sought. “The vision is almost celluloid in its
romanticism. The setting with its colorful trappings complete with a portly
maharaja and a bevy of nautch girls trailing behind, all ready to witness a
half-clad emaciated fakir throwing a rope to the sky.”

We have no idea what “nautch” means. We assume – because it sounds similar to
“nautical” – it must mean “girls who wear sailor costumes or female sailors.”
And though our mother often swam along side troop ships, we’ve never seen a
magician with female or male sailors on stage.

Magician K.S. Ramesh — known for his Bollywood appearances — wants to
invigorate the magic ranks and thus shake magicians from their comfortable
livings performing birthday party shows.

“One has to constantly innovate. Magic
is increasingly getting lost in the arc lights of big entertainment business.
[The talented magicians in India] are only doing routine stuff like birthday
parties and restaurants.” To get into the spotlight, the magicians need to think
outside the box, says Mr. Ramesh.

We assume here he means the Victory Carton Illusion or Sub Trunk. When we
performed the Victory Carton Illusion or the Sub Trunk, we were also very afraid
of intense spotlights ruining the illusion by casting shadows at the wrong time.
He may also be using the phrase as some sort of metaphor.

Mr. Ramesh is encouraging mall owners and promoters in Bangalore to employ
magicians round the clock to add to the entertainment value of a mall and also
provide employment opportunities for magicians.

He believes and we agree magic will survive only if it is presented as a live
show.

J.R. Shankar agrees with the need to stay true to our magic roots. “We need
to stick to our roots only then is there scope (sic?) to keep the magic of magic
alive.” Mr. Shankar and 14 of his family tour under the name “Gili Gili Magic.”
He believes working with one’s family is essential to keeping magic energized
and the performer in practice.

Mr. Shankar’s routine “Enlightenment through Entertainment” is singled out as
an example of the new magic:

Junior Shankar goes among the audience as if taking something from
their minds which appears as light. After having collected enough lights,
Shankar puts them all in a box. When he opens the box, he pulls out a cloth full
of bright lights. ‘Every human has something good in him,’ says Mr. Shankar,
adding “it is up us to take all this goodness to enrich our
lives.’”

It should be noted that this very routine was performed by our uncle in his
efforts to return to our roots in his now infamous “Back to the…
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Roy Horn

The Australian reports this morning on the various theories floated for the brutal tiger attack on Roy Horn. 

The
tiger-was-hungry theory has been ruled out. And there is no proof that
the animal was deliberately provoked by someone in the audience or that
a terrorist sprayed it with a behavior-altering scent, or that it was
unhinged by a woman with a beehive hairdo.

But
investigators still do not know what led a Bengal tiger to attack
illusionist Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy during a performance in Las
Vegas nearly two years ago.

The
Associated Press propounded a Freedom of Information Act request to the
U.S. Department of Agriculture and received the final report on the
accident.  Unfortunately, the title “final report” is a
misnomer.  There is no finality in a report that offers no
suggestion for the cause of the attack.

The report rules out several popular theories however:

• A
  veterinarian who examined Montecore after the mauling says the animal
  appeared normal and the USDA report says the animal was fed on schedule;

• The
  Las Vegas Police brought in its Homeland Security Unit to debunk the
  claim animal-rights activists provoked the attack or that it was an act
  of economic terrorism against Las Vegas;

• No evidence was
  found to support claims far-UV and or high ultra sonics – triggers that
  might be the work of a terrorist aiming at a high-profile gay target;

• Las Vegas police say there was no proof a woman with a beehive hairdo distracted the tiger;

• There was no support for the theory something or someone in the audience was sprayed with a scent that drove the animal wild.

The
report did conclude “the Siegfried and Roy show failed to protect the
audience because it had no barrier separating the exotic animals from
the crowd. The big cats could have easily jumped off the stage and into
the audience.”

Accordingly, despite the fact that the show
was performed in the same manner thousands of times without incident
and there was no suggestion the tiger had any chance of attacking
anyone in the audience, the USDA decided to cite the show with a
“letter of non-compliance?”

The other strange aspect of the report is the USDA’s desire to keep
the report secret.  In fact, almost every page has redacted
portions — blacked out — apparently for national security
reasons. 

You can download the full report here.

It is difficult to see
how this could be considered anything…
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