We’re having a rather elaborate lunch when my companion, 35-year-old Pouroosh (or PC Sorcar Master), demands a piece of paper. I offer him my notepad, but he refuses to take it. Instead, he grabs a paper serviette kept on the table, and stares at me for a good two minutes.
He writes something on it, tears it up and keeps it aside. He then proceeds to play a little mathematical game with me, and reveals the correct number in the end.
It’s a simple mathematical trick that I already know — having devoured books of magic as a child — but I look surprised. Pouroosh is happy.
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In the evening, at an almost-packed Krishna Gana Sabha Auditorium, he’ll surprise many more Chennaiites, as he bedazzles them with some grand magic tricks that continue to amaze us. It includes ‘The Birds from Nowhere’, in which he pulls out a pair of pigeons from thin air. And another segment in which he pours water from a seemingly empty water bottle.
The audience gasp. Pouroosh enjoys the attention as he struts on the stage with the confidence of a showman, an entertainer. The sets are home to him — they take you to the past, making you reminisce of how simple times were a few decades ago. “To the 40s and 50s,” he says excitedly, “My grandpa used to have this backdrop and lights when he performed at that time. The future generation needs to know about the history of magic. This is an old formula from my grandfather.”
This retro magic, as he calls it, is essential at a time when the world is taking to technology big time.
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“Japan has more TV channels than India and magic is very popular there. Magic is always popular in places where there are more entertainment avenues. Some people tell me magic is dying. It isn’t. The platform in which it’s performed is changing.”
The first time Pouroosh performed a trick, he was a year-and-a-half. The place was Tokyo, Japan. “I performed along with my father,” he recalls, “Many years later, I performed a solo show there. In India, I started my magical career in Coimbatore, when I was in Class VIII. That solo show was a special experience. It was videographed by a friend, and I still watch it at times. When I travel to this part of the country, I get nostalgic.”
He adds, “My grandpa created an impact across the globe. My father (Provas Chandra Sorcar) followed in his footsteps. At this point of time, for me, it’s more of a duty than passion, to carry magic forward. We still stand in a good position in the international market.”
He’s adept at all forms of magic, including conjuring close-ups, illusions and stunts. On stage, he does illusions, and for street magic shows, he does conjuring close-ups. But Pouroosh singles out stunts as one of his passions.
He’s done them in the past — the toughest was being put inside a box that was chained and thrown into the sea. “I saw death,” he shudders, recalling the stunt that he performed in 2007 for a TV show, “Though I had practice and knew how to escape, I was still afraid. But thankfully, I came out and people were amazed.”
Pouroosh has other passions — he fancies rock music and setting up a magic school at some point in time — but stage magic takes up a lot of time at present. His young son, Pourav, has already taken an interest in the world of tricks.
“He will be the fourth-generation Sorcar,” beams Pouroosh, “I’m proud to say that several magicians from around the world have been inspired by my grandfather. For us Sorcars, it’s a duty to spread magic to future generations.”
The show, hosted by Priya Cultural, will be on every evening till Sunday at Krishna Gana Sabha, T Nagar. For details, call 7299969998