Recognise magic as art, demand magicians

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, February 23

International magician and mentalist Parmod Kumar, who claims to have performed in a comedy show with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann that had been aired on Doordarshan in the 1990s, says the state government supports an array of artists and recognises their skills, but magic is not being given the recognition it deserves.

He said being an artist himself, the Punjab CM was aware of the efforts made by artists, thus, magicians had high hopes that the state government would listen to their long-pending request and recognise magic as an art form in the state.

“If the government can fund literature meets, drama, dance, and folk programmes, then why is magic, an ancient old art form, neglected?” questioned Kumar, adding that if the state government supports magicians, it will not only help them raise awareness about various social schemes but also help remove superstitions regarding this art form among rural masses.

Parmod, who hails from Jalandhar, said he had performed hundreds of shows in India as well in foreign countries. He has been honoured with the title of best magician in the region. “Apart from this, the Indian community in Canada, Australia and other countries had also honoured me for taking the art of magic to the next level and bringing in new reforms to it,” he said.

He said he was also a part of the magicians group that made a world record by demonstrating ‘appearing pigeon’ magic at the same place and same time for spreading the message of peace, love and positivity. He said 111 magicians participated in the record and it had been registered in the OMG Book of Records on February 11 in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh.

“Moreover, I have also made it to the Guinness Book of Records for my outstanding tricks and have also received many state and national awards for bringing in new techniques and tricks in the field of magic,” he added.

Parmod said earlier he was not able to give much time to magic but ever since he retired from his post as Kanungo in 2020, not only did he enroll in a professional magic course related to mentalism but also became a full-time magician.