Open magic academies: Magician Anand

Panaji, Nov 9 (UNI) A world-renowned magician requsted the Centre and the state governments to open Academies of Magic, besides recognising magic as a performing art, so that it could generate more employment opportunities for the youth.

Interacting with mediapersons yesterday on the eve of his ''Colourful Mayalok'' show in Goa, Anand said with lesser investment, magic academies could do wonders to enthrall the audiences, besides producing talented magicians of international repute, unlike the investment of crores of rupees in arts and culture fields which did not produce many artistes.

He said he was organising the show after eight years. Before the show, his son Akash would ride motorcycle blidfolded on Mapusa road.

Akash will perform the most spectacular adventure ''The Great Fire Escape'' on Campal ground on November 26 in connection with the 13-day International Film Festival of India (IFFI), beginning here on November 23.

During the show, a fully-chained Akash will jump from a 40 feet high crane onto a burning haystack and unchain himself to escape from the razing fire in a jiffy.

The 54-year-old magician has performed hundreds of difficult feats in India and abroad.

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