Where have you been ??
Sorry, I got late.
But where did you go ??
somewhere close by.
Where ??
I had gone to watch the magic show by PC Sarkar, the great magician from Bengal.
What ?? You didn’t even tell me.
You would have said no anyway, what was the point in asking ??
This is ridiculous. How can you go to a magic show without even asking me ??
I had some real fun.
What fun, Mona ?? What is wrong with you ?? You should know, he is no magician, he is a conman. You get it, a conman.
No Raj. The Bengali magic is for real.
I don’t buy.
You will…someday.
That will be the day, Mona. Not in my lifetime at least.
Forget it. You must be feeling hungry, so am I.
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Kala Jadoo...Kala Jadoo... Aaiye Aaiye..Appke Shehar Mein Pahli Baar…Bangal ka Asli Kala Jaado...Aaiye Aaiye…The announcement was to be followed by a sweet sound of dumroo..Darrr…Darr…Aaiye Aaiye....
As I looked around, tried locating the source of this voice, I noticed a decent gathering, making its way to a corner. It was for a magic show. Black Magic…From Bengal…Not Any More. I will expose him in front of everyone. Let me grab those "front-row" seats. How will I catch him, if I don’t stand close enough ??
At the center of all this, I saw a young boy in his teens, who was proclaiming himself to be the practitioner of Black Jadoo. Hmm Not Bad..But poor boy, your story is soon going to over. You will regret doing a magic-show in my town.
The show started with few routine tricks, as you would expect out of a run-of-the-mill Magic-Show. The handkerchief turning into a bird. Goldplated coins raining from vaccum….Must be sleight of hands, I quipped. While people around me clapped, I was not impressed. My mind was fixated on his hands and gestures. Suddenly, the magician announced “The show is almost over. I am now going to try my last magic. I promise, it will blow your minds. Are you all ready ??” Yes, we are, The chorus followed his voice and everybody started clapping in anticipation of what would come.
The magician hand-picked a person from the crowd and claimed that he would turn him blind by applying black-magic and then revert him back to normalcy, again with help of Black Magic. Everyone was awe-struck. He is going to make somebody blind and then restore his vision. Must be the dreaded Bengali Kala Jadoo !!
He started chanting abracadabra with a magical wand in his hand, looking into the person’s eyes all this while. The effect was instant. The man became blind in a flash. The magician proudly announced the person has become. He is blind. You all can test it yourself.
Let me test him. I told to myself.
How many ?? I raised my hands, with my little finger hidden underneath my thumb.
I can’t see anything. He complained.
Must be lying …I kept my thoughts to myself.
By now, everyone else, except me, was convinced that he was blind.
Now I will revert his eye-sight, the magician announced. The audience had their heart in their mouth. Can he do that ??
Oh Yes, He can !! The same chore followed. And his vision was restored, or at least proclaimed to be so by the great magician. A round of applause followed.
Folks, now it is your turn ?? Any one want to experience Black Magic first-hand. His tone was surprisingly strong for a performer inviting his audience on stage, as if he was throwing a challenge to them.
To my utter surprise, nobody volunteered. I thought, there would be a flood of people willing to experience Black Magic first-hand. No one. This was my chance to prove that he is a cheat. A golden opportunity indeed. I promptly raised my hand.
So you want to give the Black Magic a try. The magician took a good hard look at me and tried confirming my intentions.
Yes.
Are you sure, you want to give it a try.
Yes.
Are you really sure ??
Yes, I am. I was getting annoyed at his questionnaire.
I hope, you are aware of the consequences ??
What consequences ??
See, there is always an element of risk involved.
What risk ??
There is a remote chance that the magic will fail.
Fail, What do you mean ??
You may become blind for the rest of your life.
I am fine. I firmly stood my ground.
Some people did get scared. I could hear them whisper “There is no guarantee that the Black Magic will succeed ?? What if the magic fails ?? His eye-sight will be gone, really ?? But, I was not unfazed by his failure. After all, I was praying for his failure, wasn’t I ??
Ok, fine. As You Wish. But let me repeat, there is a remote chance of you loosing your eyesight permanently. The magician made a last ditch attempt to convince me, not to try Black Magic.
You have to constantly look into my eyes, while I chant my mantras, get it.
Yes, go ahead.
With a resigned look, the boy started chanting all those mantras. I was standing very close to him, his fist occasionally touching my belly, as he waved his magical wand. There was no impact whatsoever as a result of his innocuous chanting, at least I didn’t feel anything. But, a close look at his torn clothes and miserable condition started making me drowsy. A glance at his empty stomach, squeezed almost to the back, was making me loose my eye-sight. As I looked deep into his wet eyes, I was blinded by the light coming out of them. I was becoming blind. Yes, I was becoming blind.
Mona, you were right. The Bengali Black Magic is for real, it works..It works.
