Captured by : pg 3- lead_2
When is the last time you saw a live magic show in Goa? Most likely it was at a children's party or a private event. Other than that magic shows aren't usually the first thing on organiser's mind when planning an event. Hoping to change that and popularise the entertainment value of magic on a wider platform in the state, Ian Fernandes is all set to expand his company Urban Shaman to Goa.
Urban Shaman ('shaman' means witch doctor) was started by Fernandes in 2015 in Mumbai, along with two friends Janvion Rodrigues and Azhar Pirani, and is an umbrella organisation where people can hire different magicians based on the kind of show they want. Rather than using dramatic props to do magic, they prefer to use everyday objects.
“I've always wanted to move to Goa. So I decided to try out some shows here recently and found that working here was fun. Also everyone I know is moving down here. As for what I've seen so far, magic isn't very popular here as yet and there aren't any special venues for it either but locals are interested in seeing more magic shows. So the plan is to do my own shows here and also to get other magicians from all over India to perform in Goa. I also hope to connect with local magicians here in time,” says Fernandes, who is originally from Goa and has his grandparents house in Morjim.
In fact it was his grand father who got Fernandes interested in magic in the first place. “ My granddad showed me a couple of tricks and later I used to do magic as a hobby while in college. However, one day someone suggested that I do a show and gradually it turned into a profession,” recalls Fernandes who has now been doing magic for close to 10 years.
Fernandes went on to work on a cruise line as a magician where he got a chance to meet and learn from magicians around the world. “ Not only do you get a chance to teach them but you also learn a lot from them. In fact I have even met the authors of some of the books on magic that I have read and learned from!” he says.
But is it a good thing to share your material with your competition? “ I believe that if you share you can get feedback from others and improve your talent,” he says. “ Besides, no trick is exactly the same as a lot depends on the magician's personality.”
Just as with any skill, perfecting a magic tricks requires a fair amount of practice as well. “ One of the most challenging parts is trying to get the angle right and we use a mirror while practicing so that we know what the audience is seeing is right,” says Fernandes, adding that he always has a back up in case something doesn't go the way he planned while performing. “The audience doesn't usually know how the trick is going to work out so this works to your advantage and you can work it around, it all depends on your presentation.” While mind reading and mental illusions is used for older folks, Fernandes states that for kids it is important to use tricks that are more visual and colourful to keep their attention.
However in searching for new material, Fernandes looks for inspiration from different subjects like psychology, physics and hypnotherapy. “When people think of hypnosis they usually think of of someone calling you to the stage and then putting you in a trance and making you act like a chicken. But there is so much more to it. In the UK for instance hypnosis is being used for curing ailments. Dentists use it instead of anaesthesia and so there are plenty of benefits.”
Recently, Urban Shaban have also teamed up with American School of Bombay for a fun way of learning certain parts of their school curriculumn for instance surface tension through magic. “ This is a more hands on way of learning. In fact magic is not isolated. Through it you also learn about physics, psychology and even public speaking,” explains Fernandes, adding, “The best part of magic is the people's reactions. How many other jobs let you make people happy and be happy at the same time?”
