Vacation to the Hills !

I travel a lot for work... this time I took a vacation! Mom and I set off for a vacation to the hills of Sikkim. It was a sudden plan and due the lack of availability of train tickets we resorted to travelling by a royal cruiser bus. A rather bumpy all night journey to Siliguri followed by drive to our destination We arrived in Gantok on the afternoon of April 22^nd. A quick freshen up and we took to exploring MG Marg, which is the shopping haven in Gantok. As usual I picked up a bunch of stuff that I hope to turn into magic routines at some point.

At the Lobby of our hotel in Gantok.

An early morning share taxi took us to Lachun ,a small town higher up in the hills, the next day. It was a whole day drive with us stopping at three spectacular waterfalls along the way. We reached Lachun after sunset. A quick dinner and falling asleep to the sounds of the nearby waterfall prepared us for the trip to Yumthang Valley and Zero Point the next day.

Mom by a waterfall on the road to Lachun.

Another waterfall along the way...

...and one more ! 

 The drive to zero point the next day was a bumpy one, with muddy roads to drive through. He had breakfast at Yumgthang valley and then continued to drive up hill. The snow capped mountain was a spectacular sight. I had never seen anything like it before.  Due to me constantly posing for pictures with my playing cards, it was revealed that I am a magician and thanks to constant requests to “show them something” I ended up doing “street magic” in the freezing cold. More on this episode in the next blog.
The Almighty decided to share some magic with me and we were blessed with snow! We drove back to Yumthang Valley and spent some time there enjoying the peace and serenity before getting back to Lachun.

Mom. All set for the drive to Yumthan and Zero Point.

At Yumthang Valley

At Zero Point, Photobombed by Santa Clause! 

Snow! 

After lunch, we were back on the road, a rather winding journey to Lachen.  We arrived in this small town at dusk. The next morning we were scheduled to visit the iconic Gurudongmar lake, however since mom wasn’t feeling too well. We stayed at the hotel. At around noon , I had just come out of the shower , I felt my head swinging. I looked at mom, she seemed unstable too. We were experiencing  the earthquake for the first time... the curtains and water bottles started shaking in a very uncanny way. We made our way to the balcony of the hotel, but it seemed everything had calmed down. Little did we know that this was the first tremor of the Nepal Earthquake. Once the travellers from Gurudongmar had returned, we had a hurried lunch and left for Gantok, fearing landslides and more earthquakes. By now, concerned calls and messages started coming and we were beginning to understand the magnitude of the calamity. We reached Gantok pretty late and after bidding farewell to our fellow travellers we made our way back to the hotel. 

with our fellow travellers... 

The next morning we were supposed to go tsomgo lake, but our plans were called off as the government had stopped all tourist visits in fear of the aftershocks. We took to exploring MG Marg again. After picking up gifts for friends and relatives, we sat down at a cafe for lunch. In about 5 miniutes, we felt the table shaking. The whole building was vibrating. We rushed out of the building to the streets now teeming with panicking tourists and locals. This tremor was stronger than the one we had felt in Lachen. Once Mother Nature had stabilised, we made our way to an all day breakfast joint  for lunch. As soon as we were done, we were confronted by the heaviest hailstorm I have ever experienced. Within minutes the entire road was covered with ice. We sheltered in the cafe for a while and once the rain got a little lighter, managed to rush to the hotel. We were lucky were were close to the hotel as the downpour continued for the next four hours!

At the New Jalpaiguri railway station.

Sensing the possibilities of landslides and road blocks on the road to the foothills, we booked a card to New Jalpaiguri the next day. We checked in at a local hotel. As soon as we entered the room, the earth started to tremble again. The drill was repeated as everyone frantically rushed to the streets. We managed a peaceful slumber that night. The next morning we took to exploring the local markets in New Jalpaiguri. After lunch and a little lazing around, we happily boarded the Darjeeling Mail and arrived in Kolkata at 6:45 am on the 29^th of April!

Not all who wander are lost !!

Believe in Magic, Be The Miracle !

" The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper..."

Remember this scene?

Two of my favourite actors, Jim Carrey and Morgan Freeman, in the epic Be the Miracle scene from Bruce Almighty.  My ever first business card,that I created on Microsoft PowerPoint, (Yes PowerPoint),had that tagline, “Believe in Magic, Be the Miracle”. So what is the Magic you Believe in? And are you the Miracle?  We all have Magic inside us. I do the Kind of magic where I create things that look impossible, using sleight of hand, scientific techniques and psychology. What is your Magic?  Do you paint? Do you make music? Are you a writer? Or do you do something so out of this world that no one has ever heard of it? Your Magic is what you are Good at doing! Find your magic... cultivate it... show the world your Magic... and use your Magic to be the Miracle...

A miracle doesn’t have to be the parting of the ”Red” Sea or feeding 5000 with a handful of food. If you can make one life a little better, that is a miracle. Miracles Happen all the time, we just need the eyes to see it.  You can use your magic to create miracles. Give to charity, buy the kid on the street an ice cream, give leftovers to stray animals. If you make music, go out and make music at an old age home. If you paint, sell the artwork and use part of the money to buy a less fortunate soul a meal or a blanket or some clothes. The joy of giving can really be miraculous. One Act of Random Kindness will not change the world... but it will make the day for that one soul and you will be blessed. As a performer myself, I perform numerous show a year for poor children and old age homes. In return I receive uncountable blessings. I experience a different joy when i feed the puppies around Victoria Memorial area in Kolkata. The wagging tails and yelps bring a different feeling altogether. Know your Magic and Be the Miracle... and you too will be wondrously blessed!

Stay Blessed!

Amazing David. 

Emotions vs Practicality...

“ Break free from the chains that shackle each soul through the binding links of fear, greed and indifference...”

Recently I have been told, both directly and indirectly, that I need to be more practical in life ! I still consider myself to be a struggling entertainer who quit his schooling right after high school and chose to become a professional magician. I may be referred to as “Illusionist” now, but at one time its was “magician”, that I wanted to be!

 Man is an animal and as an animal we are blessed with a basic instinct. Sometimes you have to trust that gut feeling and jump! First leap of faith, quit studies... Second big leap of faith, quit my call center job.. Third big leap of faith..Ignore job offers from the UK,.. This list can go on. Every time I jumped, either the universe caught me in a net or gave me wings to fly.

 Today, I am proud to say that I am known name across the Nation if not the Globe. I as a person can not separate Emotions and Work. I work from the Heart. If I wasn't emotional I would not have been the performer or person I am today! I would not have achieved what I have today.

If I had possibly chosen to be practical, today I would have had a steady job, big bank balance, a car and more! But I would have been unhappy... and I choose to be happy! I know tons of practical people who earn a lot and yet are not happy with their lives. They say it’s more comfortable to cry in a Merc than on a bicycle but if I have to cry I would rather cry in the rain with my bare soles mixing with the Earth!  I may sound mean, but here is a little something for the practically unhappy people...

I guess there would be no Harry Potter if J K Rowling chose to be practical... there would be no Rocky if Sylvester Stallone would have been practical, there would not have been countless KFCs across the globe if the old Colonel hadn't been emotional!

Dreams do come true!

See what Criss Angel has to say... 

I may have an untidy home, no car, not enough in the bank... but I do what I love, I spread smiles, and I am happy... and isn’t that what life is all about??

Until Next time..

Don’t loose the Magic in Life...

Amazing David!

PS: Rant Over !

PS 2.0; Thank you Ruqaiyah for helping me put this together.. it's been years since I've written and I needed some polishing up ! 

Rising from the Ashes...

Its been so long... so long that I actually had to search for the "New Post" button.
I guess my blog died way back in mid 2011 and was resting in peace till I got this sudden urge to write! So like a Phoenix I hope I am going to Rise from the Ashes.
Well If you have been following my work on my official facebook page,  https://www.facebook.com/amazingdavidmagic , you will know that my life is indeed a rollercoaster. However half the time I'm puking my guts out but I still throw my hands up and enjoy the ride.
I have decided to have the blog a little more personal too, not just writing about my magic, but also my life and my views. The views expressed here in are solely my own and I do not mean to offend anyone.
And heres just a random picture from a recent gig ! Performing one of my favorite effects at a Principals Meet for the Adamas University, at the Kenilworth Hotel in Kolkata.
And here is a random video of the effect too !!
Amazing David, LIVE! The Floating Table!!
Why this randomness?? Its been so long since I've written and there's so much i want to pen down that I am lost! I have a feeling like I'm sounding a teenage girl at a One Direction Concert!!
I hope I keep the magic alive on my blog and I don't go into a state of dormancy again!
In the mean time,I am a little off Youtube and have gone with Vimeo. The Official Channel being :https://vimeo.com/amazingdavid
You are invited to stalk me on Instagram as: @amazingdavidmagic
Tweet tweet at: @iamamazingdavid

The soon to be Upgraded website is: www.amazingdavid.com

Keep the Magic Alive!!
Amazing David!

KEEPING THE MAGIC ALIVE.......

I learnt my art the hard way...Trial an error, the error outdoing the trial most of the time. But a lot of ventures have been successful and love and support from Mom, friends and fans, has resulted in today’s   “Amazing David!!”

However I did get Tips and tricks from a lot of people. One of the first to teach me tricks was a man named Basant Thapa. He would sell magic effects on the pavement in front of the Indian museum. I would sit with him for ages on the foot path and watch him demonstrate his wares to passer bys. It was there that I watched in awe, a dwarf who called himself Peter do some amazing sleight of hand with a coin. Later on, I was guided by Mr. Tarun Das, who would demonstrate science magic at the Birla Industrial and Technological museum. Invaluable advice came from Mr.Sujit Mukherjee, Mr.Solyl Kundu and Mr. Deepayan Chatterjee...who has grown to be my brother in magic. Today, it is mainly advice both to and from my friends in magic that keep pushing me towards better magic.

When friend and proprietor of Loknath Magic Centre, Santanu Sen, suggested that I take over mentoring two boys from the UK, I was happy to oblige. The twin boys, Arinjoy and Devjoy, nicknamed Sunny and Happy, were into magic for many years, however they lacked proper guidance. They were the grandsons of a popular magician based in Malaysia. Unfortunately their grandfather passed away before he could pass on the legacy to the boys. They did have an avid interest in magic and had performed shows with their Grandfathers props and props they had procured from Santanu. They mainly wanted to learn sleight of hand and magic they could do anytime, anywhere!

Sunny, Amazing David and Happy

I designed especially for them, a parasol act. Since they were identical twins, they would do the same act together. One being a mirror image of the other. Since it was their first attempt at stage sleight of hand, we had to work with simple sleights that would result in good magic. The act was designed for a lay audience, but would also wow magicians. They picked up pretty quick and I was impressed with their progress.

Working on the parasol act

Happy, Amazing David and Sunny doing the act together.

As far as close up magic was concerned, the two youngsters were having trouble to do justice to the question most beginner magicians fear –“show me a trick” or “do some magic” .We covered loads of effects using coins, cards, rubber bands, and everyday objects. Also covered were effects in mental magic that could be performed on stage or up close. Besides these effects which could be done with borrowed props, I also presented them with a bunch of my favourite close up effects.

Also, we video recorded all the lessons so that the boys had a record for future reference. It was a wonderful experience mentoring Happy and Sunny. I was glad i could share my magic with two boys who well deserved it. All the very best to both of you. Take care. God bless.

....and they are more than happy to reward their teacher........!!

Till we meet again, this is Amazing David..

Believe in magic

www.amazingdavidmagic.com

Khul Ja Sim Sim ..... A Machine-Gun Magic experience!!

No post for the last too months could mean just two things.. either I am too busy to write… or I am magically starved….   Unfortunately this time, it was the latter.. 

My magical famine came to an end, when I was invited by friend and president of the Society of Indian Magicians (SIM), Magician Atul Patil to attend and perform in Khul ja sim sim, their annual international magic convention.  Also of late, God bless Facebook, I had become friends with Kyle Ravin, a magician with Indian origin from Singapore and when he expressed his interest to some to India, the convention was a great excuse!! As Kyle flew into India a couple of days before the event, I had a great reason to be in Mumbai 2 days before the convention.



Kyle Ravin and Amazing David!!



As my flight landed in Mumbai at 8:35 on the morning of the 3^rd of june, I was greeted at the airport by Atul and Magician Sreeraj We drove to the hotel where I would be sharing a room with Kyle. I was great to finally meet Kyle Ravin in person. Kyle gave me a signed copy of his book on showmanship and his postcard as well as  a postcard and a Magicseen Magazine signed by ‘Singapore’s most famous Illusionist’ J C Sum. It is indeed a pleasure to add all these items to my collection. After a quick freshen up and a brunch of cheese burst pizza, we went down to Patils Magic Shop just around the corner from where we were staying. It was great to meet Mr.Mandar Patil, the owner of the shop after ages.

That afternoon, Atul took us, along with Sreeraj, Magician Ketan, Magician Arun Mande and Ravi Jadugar from Mauritius to see K.Lal’s magic production that was running in Mumbai at the time.



Amazing David with K.Lal



Amazing David with K.Lal jr

 
We met K.Lal and K.Lal jr backstage before we were treated to their  massive magic production. Appearances, vanishes, transformations, levitations and transpositions kept us all enthralled for a full 3 hours. It was indeed an honor when K.Lal called us up on stage and presented us with flowers. At 86 years,and suffering from brain tumor, K.Lal still owns the stage..

Post the show, while the rest of the gang headed for a chill out, I met up with my best-friend for almost 20 years, Nishant. We decided to head for Bandra for a date with my ‘other love’ KFC. However the weather had other plans and heavy rains had us sheltering in the canopy of a fast food joint for almost 45 miniutes. To make the most of the time we downed a couple of ‘shewarmas’ before making a second attempt to get to KFC, but when that failed, we ended up having a pizza for dinner. The rains had died down, however a light drizzle continued. Nishant an I took a long walk in the rain on the streets of Mumbai and down memory lane.

Early the next morning Nishant came to the hotel and we both feasted on a breakfast of aapam, malabari parathas and chicken sukha at a nearby joint. Kyle and I had an invitation the next day for lunch at the residence of friend and fellow magician Kruti Parekh. We met Kruti at Mahim station and took a train and thanks to the misdirection of our mysterious art, we missed our sation and had to take a cab back to her place. We had a great lunch prepared by Kruti’s mum and more pizza!!




Amazing David, Kruti Parkeh and Kyle Ravin make corn disappear

 

After lunch the three of us had a great time sharing and discussing magic. Kruti took us for a drive round Mumbai and we stopped at the Gateway of India. Kyle and I took a cab back to the hotel. We met Nishant that evening and went down to Bandra for KFC (finally). We were joined by Nishant’s friend Pritha.

I had met Pritha many months ago at the Taj Bengal, Kolkata. I had a performance there and Nishant and Pritha happened to be posted at the hotel at the time.



Pritha. Nishant, Amazing David and Kyle freak at KFC!



We had a great time at KFC as laughs were shared, magic blew minds and Pritha’s legs were mercilessly pulled!! This was followed by smoothies and later beers. Finally we got to the hotel at 1:00 am and then readied ourselves for the convention the next day.

We got a warm welcome at the convention premises, meeting old friends and new ones too. I knew a lot of magicians already thanks to Facebook. It was great meeting my long time net-buddy Ryan Viegas for the first time and also Sai Gopal, who I also know through the internet.

Sai Gopal, Amazing David, Ryan Viegas

We took a quick round of the dealer stalls and then went up to the auditorium in time for the opening of the event. The event was opened by K.Lal and K.Lal jr. This was followed by a tradional Indian dance performance. We were then joined by Kruti who as usual turned up late!





Amazing David and Kyle ravin judge the magic....
.......while kruti judges the camera



 Kyle and I had the honor and pleasure of judging the junior magic competion. There were a lot of children performing. There were a lot of good performances making judging difficult. I was utterly disgusted as I watched a child doing an act as a drunkard. The competition was won by Zenia Bhumgara a 14 year old magician who showed excellent skills and showmanship as she conjured with scarves, canes, wine glasses and doves.

Zenia Bhumgara, Amazing David and Pearl Bhumgara

 She has a bright future in magic ahead. I must make mention of a little boy named Pradnyesh aged 6. This pint-sized magician wowed the audience with his stage work. Though he performed standard magic effects, his stage-presence and showmanship was far far beyond his age. His promise shows that he might just be India’s next greatest name in magic! The competition was followed by a lecture by Singaporean magician Amazing Bosco who sent shivers down our spines by stapling currency notes to his body and face with an industrial stapler.. 



Amazing Bosco and Amazing David!!



 He taught how to prepare the mind and body to do such a stunt but I don’t think I will be trying it anytime soon. Kyle Ravin took the stage next and delivered the most mind-blowing magic lecture that I have ever heard. His tips on showmanship and presentation were really informative and educating…. And what he taught I have started executing already. A traditional lunch followed, Kyle, Kruti and I visited all the dealer stalls and I picked up a few Items.



Magician of the Year, the AVS, Amazing David and Niraksh



 The senior competition followed and all the contestants wowed in some way or the other. But the well deserved first prize went to third generation illusionist Niraksh. He enthralled the crowd with his endless card productions followed by the production of jumbo and even giant cards and a castle of cards too.



Amazing David's Musical manipulation..








Amazing David manifests a gituar



After a break for tea, the Grand gala show began. Yours truly, Amazing David opened with his musical manipulation act producing disco balls, cds and a guitar as the finale. Atul shed his mask and conjured with doves, coins and confettie, Zenia and Niraksh reprised their award winning acts, Samir Patel filled the stage with parasols, Magician Ali produced cards and doves, Amazing Bosco manipulated flames, and Kyle conjured up masks, linked and unlinked hula-hoops and escaped from a strait-jacket. Wow, truly a machine-gun of magic!!

Kyle konjurs with klass!

Post the convention, I dropped Kyle to the airport and was thankful for his visit to India.



Atul amazes!!





The next morning Atul dropped me to the airport and I had a relaxing flight back home.

Amazing David and Nishant Philip.. the magic of friendship!

Khul ja sim sim was an awesome convention and I look forward to more such conventions in the future!! Until next time…..this is Amazing David.. hoping to appear somewhere near you!! God bless……..







March Masala!!

Year endings and exams…….the things I hate about March. On the other hand I usually look forward to my birthday every year.. so march is a month of mixed emotions.

A metal detector proves i hide no tools to aid the escape..

The Federation of Indian Magic Associates held their 2nd Magic Fair at the Rabindra Sadan ground from the 2nd to the 6th of the month. I was scheduled to perform my Flames and Fiber escape. At 5:30 pm on the evening of the 2nd , I stood in the centre of a circle of straw with an anticipated audience all around me…..

The challenge was to escape from the bonds of a 100 feet of rope with in 90 seconds if not the straw would be ignited adding to the challenge. Though the escape involved a lot less fire than ‘the escape from inferno’ it was none the less more challenging. Besides, I also had a tip-off that there was a chance of the stunt being sabotaged. So with a prayer in my heart and well wishes from my friends, loved ones and colleagues, I announced the escape. After a short introduction touching on the life and work of master escape artist, Harry Houdini. I asked for volunteers to bind me.

The knots get tight as the straw is doused with fuel..

A rather shrewd looking guy came up on his own and I picked another guy who seemed to be a college student. Both guys inspected the chair to which I was to be bound as well as the rope. Once they were satisfied, I sat on the chair and they began to tie me.

Captive..!

The ropes began to tighten against my chest and stomach, then between my legs and arms. I could feel the ropes getting tighter and tighter….tighter than they had ever been…..i could hear the legs of the chairs squeak and crunch as the two from the audience bound me to the piece of furniture. The back legs of the chair started to break under tension of the rope. Of the at least 200 times that I have performed this escape, I had never been bound so tightly or so intricately.

The escape begins..

I could feel my blood flow getting restricted and my hands started to turn a ghastly shade of purple. The six and a half minutes of music had run out twice…. I was being bound for over fifteen minutes. I started feeling faint as my blood circulation was practically stopped. The final knots were tightened and I thanked my two volunteers as they returned to their seats. “Stay Calm” I said to my self. I took a deep breadth and started the escape. There wasn’t an inch of slack rope anywhere. Straining my muscles, I managed to get my right hand out… I started pulling at the knots…..before I knew it, the chair broke beneath me…tying to remain in the seated position I wriggled my body to get out of the knots… in vain.

feeling 'HOT HOT HOT!'

Smokin!!

To add to my plight, my restricted blood flow had caused my body to go numb. Ninety seconds just flew by and the ring of straw was set ablaze by my assistants. I tipped over in the chair and frantically began to gather enough slack… To say the least the fire was hot…. I could feel the heat around my face and palms. I was still bound to the chair and the flames were getting higher.

Out of the flames...Struggling with the rope..

MOM!!

 I managed to stand up and jump out of the circle of fire while I was still bound to the chair… using all my strength and remaining energy I lay on my back on the ground and freed my self from the tangle of fiber that was holding me captive.



'why cant u stick to producing flowers??'said my aunt

 In relief and victory I threw the chair into the flames while the audience cheered….and mom ran into the performing area for a tight hug. Photographs and autographs for friends and fans followed as I triumphantly placed another feather in my cap.

Congratulated my Pamela ma'am, one of my
school teachers..

On the 6th, FIMA honored me and the other Kolkata magicians who were part of “India’s Magic Star” with bouquets and plaques. On the same day I performed at the event. Geometrically impossible, a new twist on the voodoo box and of course Illuminati, my light manipulation routine which I actually did as a show off to other magicians.

Geometrically Impossible..

There were no other performances lined up this month but there are a few things in the pipeline…wish me luck for that.

Ruchira....!!!!

I celebrated a quite birthday this year and was honored to receive a self-written poem from my friend and fan Ryan Viegas from Mumbai. Well here it is…without his permission… :-D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

A birthday is the most happiest time of the YEAR

It should be celebrated with a piece of cake and a glass full of BEER,

It’s the day you get everything you ever WANTED,

A magical day when every wish is GRANTED,

I hope you have a birthday better than the BEST,

So party hard and enjoy the day to the FULLEST,

I don’t have any gift but I promise to help you in making your dreams come TRUE,

You are a good person and you deserve an awesome birthday so-

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.

Thank you so much dude….I am really touched….





 The birthday card made by Ruchira and Rongit, my niece and nephew,
saluting my undying love for KFC....

 
God bless and I hope to see you soon. Until next time…

BELIEVE IN MAGIC!!

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