PC Sorcar Jr and Maneka share the meaning and relevance of Indrajaal and tell Divya Kaushik that magic is science that can remove superstitions from society
They come across more as a team, than as a father-daughter duo, known to enchant the world with their acts. Chatting and laughing over a cup of coffee, PC Sorcar Jr and Maneka Sorcar were enjoying time away from stage. They have been performing at the FICCI auditorium, celebrating 100 years of Indrajaal. “It is eternal and is as old as civilisation,” said Sorcar, giving an introduction to his show.
“My father PC Sorcar made me understand that magic is not to be found or created, it is all around us,” he said and Maneka continued, “Magic is not pulling a rabbit our of a hat. It is a degree of excellence. For example, if a singer attains a level of excellence and he is able to impress his audience, we often say that he created a magic. So each one of us is a magician in his own way. As far as Indrajaal is concerned, there goes a very popular story. We all know that each one of us is born to die. No matter what we do and achieve, the ultimate truth is that we have to leave all this here. So imagine if all start thinking about this, no one will work or enjoy thinking what’s the point of achieving. So lord Indra was approached with this problem. He came up with an outstanding solution. He created an enchanting web of illusions over the humanity that hides the fact that we all will eventually die. That was called Indrajaal, it gives you hope of better tomorrow, it will make you believe that if you work you can make something happen. So the essence of magic, the Indrajaal, has always been to take people on a fantasy journey and give them hope.
PC Sorcar, who is known for spectacular acts like making the Taj Mahal disappear, says that he has made additions to his performance and the best part of their performance is that it caters to audience of all age groups. “My audience comes with different IQs and cultural backgrounds. I have people in my audience who have seen my father performing, so they expect the same level of excellence from the show. To entertain the audience we have to bring them on a common platform so that they are receptive to our acts. Magic is not a child’s play, it is not about playing some tricks,” said Sorcar.
Maneka, who is happy to share the family legacy says she has a bigger point to prove to the world. “There are hardly any women magicians. While I am on stage I face the challenge to prove that I am carrying the family legacy. I feel that if I won’t be able to come up to the expectations and prove myself on stage people won’t say that Maneka was not able to do this, they will say women can’t perform magic,"” she laughed.
Maneka added, “I am a magician out of choice. You cannot force anyone to be a magician. I had a privileged life where I had a choice to be anything. I had that opportunity, education and my parents never said that you have to take the baton. I wanted to be a magician. My baba named me Paroma, but I choose my name as Maneka, meaning enchantress in Sanskrit, because I wanted to carry forward the family tradition. I couldn’t have called myself PC Sorcar mini or atom. The irony is that my society never expected this out of me as I am a woman. I think one has to grow thick skinned and then be in such a profession. You have to prepare your mind to the fact that everyday your dreams will be shattered but you have to attain your goals. I faced a lot of barriers but I think I have broken the mould and moved forward.”
Sorcar says that magic can be used as a tool to remove superstitions from our society. And for that we should have trained magicians. Sorcar is planning to open a school in Agartala to train youngsters. “The art should not die. Magic is science and to understand and grasp this science you need a mental maturity that can only come through certain training. The school is taking time to come up but even if it takes another few years I will come with it so that our culture exists and we have magicians to take the legacy forward,” ended Sorcar.