Once upon a time there was an ordinary man who could perform extraordinary feats. He could turn a boy into a rabbit, water into petals, swallow huge marbles and create trees from seeds. Babban Khan is not a character straight out of a fairytale, but he can do all this, and more.
Khan and his brother-in-law Ishamuddin Khan performed at the recently concluded Kala Ghoda festival. They hail from Ghaziabad where children are taught jaadu even before they can walk. Magic has been in their family for seven generations.
The Khan family has been performing in darbars and royal functions long before the likes of David Blaine and Criss Angel walked the streets. “Our forefathers were revered for their magical prowess,” says Khan. Today, street magic is an art performed by a handful, particularly because it is financially unrewarding. The Khan family has performed all over India— at magic conventions, the Carnival and private parties. Yet, they continue to live in a slum and securing proper education for their children remains a distant dream.
The soft-spoken father of two, Babban Khan says magic does not exist. “What we do is just sleight of hand.” On this trip, he is accompanied by his daughter, Khalida, and son, Tauseef, who is being trained to continue the family legacy. Khalida is not allowed to perform or assist as an ancient dictate forbids women to perform magic.
The brothers’ acts are characterised by simplicity of performance and the use of everyday things like water, mud, cloth, etc. There are no fancy props or smoke effects or dim lighting. “The power lies in our hands,” says Ishamuddin. He admits that street magic cannot be learned in a few days. “It’s not as easy as it looks and takes years and years of practice.”
Their most popular trick is the Indian Mango Mystery — growing a plant from just a seed at once and the Indian Basket Trick — turning a boy into a snake or a rabbit or whatever the audience wishes. Their repertoire also includes swallowing iron balls, open-air levitation, magic rice cooker (cooking rice by just moving it in a container) and pulling out stuff from thin air.
Their act packs in drama, suspense, staged fights and a lot of humour — entertainment in its simplest, purest form.
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