THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 26 April 2008 — The state capital city will host this week Vismaya 2008 — an international meet of magicians, claimed to be the biggest in the world.
Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan will inaugurate the four-day show on Thursday. Some 1,000 magicians from across the world are expected to attend the event jointly organized by Kerala Magic Academy and Department of Tourism.
As a prelude to the mega event, superstar Mohanlal was scheduled to perform the daredevil fire escape stunt named Burning Illusion at the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium tomorrow. But he withdrew after his fans and colleagues advised him against taking part in the stunt.
“It was a tough decision. The pressure from his fans and colleagues was so intense that he could not ignore them,” said Gopinath Muthukad, the magician who had been training the actor for the past 18 months.
Earlier, Association of Malayalam Movie Artists and Mohanlal Fans Association (MFA) also opposed the actor’s move to perform the risky act.
The MFA had also petitioned the state government to stop the event saying it was unbearable for them to witness their idol performing such a life-threatening act.
Meanwhile, more than five stages are being set up for holding stellar sessions of magic, including curtain raisers, magical messages, traditional street magic festival, magical competitions, demonstrations, learning, selling and a record-setting mass magic show for world peace.
Foreign magicians will include Fukai Masahiro, Kiyoka Fukai, Jorge Blass, Mirko Callacy, Kenrick ICE McDonald, Marcel Oudejans, Lin Jian, Lu Dinggang, Akua Shin and Hikari Furuyama.
On Monday, 10 magicians with their eyes blindfolded will be riding ten motorbikes through the main roads from the busy Kanakakunnu Palace to Secretariat buildings to create public awareness to save energy.
West Bengal magician Prince Sill will stage a mega feat at the Gandhi Park on Wednesday, which will include a spine-chilling act of “Bullet Catching” by mouth — holding bullets pumped from a modern rifle.
The formal inauguration of the event by the chief minister on Thursday will be followed by a cultural show directed by Soorya Krishnamoorthy and magic shows by Fukai Masahiro and Jorge Blass, Muthukad said.
Other attractions will include a demonstration by magicians for world peace, where magicians will parade inside the Kanakakunnu palace compound. They will produce pigeons from thin air and set them free into the sky.
Police in Kochi last week had saved a magician who attempted suicide to stop Mohanlal from performing the fire escape act.
Magician Samraj locked himself in a mobile mortuary set to minus 10 degree centigrade and asked his followers to take him around the city to “prevent the superstar from doing the risky and dangerous act.”
Several other magicians had also joined the protest against the film star’s attempt to “make mockery of our hard work and dedication through small tricks.”
Handleless Scooter for the Disabled
Four engineering students have developed a scooter that a physically-challenged person without hands can easily ride.
The scooter JAAS NOVUS has two extra wheels on both sides and the transmission controls such as the gear, the clutch, accelerator and the brakes are operated by legs. The Backrest Steering Device is controlled by shoulders instead of hands.
“The device is connected to the front wheel and it helps to turn the vehicle both ways. The size and the position of the backrest can be adjusted with the height and weight of the driver,” said one of the innovators Sreejith S. Kumar.
The team also includes Isaac Jeba Stanley, Aneeth Murugesh and Adhirbal, all final year students of mechanical engineering at the NI College of Engineering at Nagercoil, some 65 km from here in the neighboring Tamil Nadu state.