LIC Development Officer creates real magic

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Until a year ago, magic was a mystery for Sreekumar. When he was not juggling with money matters, being an LIC Development Officer, S Sreekumar dreamt of doing a couple of tricks all by himself someday. Thanks to the first-of-its-kind certificate course in magical arts introduced by the Kerala University Continuing Education Cell and the Magic Academy, Poojappura, these days Sreekumar has injected magic into his veins.  On Wednesday, when the result of the certificate course was out, the 49-year-old bagged the first rank in magical arts. On Thursday, at his office in LIC Pattom, the man was as usual busy at his work, though he sounded all too happy to share his tryst with magic.  ‘’I had always wanted to learn magic, but it was when such a certificate course was introduced that I could make it come true,’’ Sreekumar says.  A native of Pallichal, Sreekumar considers magic a performing art and not a mere trick game. ‘’Initially, one might get a feeling, ‘Oh! Is this all about magic?.’ Only when you perceive it as a performing art, where you have to learn the moves in a step-by-step manner, will the charm remain,’’ he says.  That is why, he says, a couple of students -aged 17 and 50 - even dropped out in between the course period. For them, it was all about learning the tricks and when the charm faded, they left, he says. The students were introduced to almost all types of magic, starting from close-up magic and showmanship to conjuring magic, street magic and mental magic. It was to stage magic that Sreekumar was attracted to.  So, now, he can make a coin into two, join broken ribbons, create a vase out of nowhere and much more. While the theory classes were held in the evening hours, it was during the early morning hours that he took to practising. He says early hours do the trick and he can easily master the moves. For the examination, which was held two months back, there was the theory and practical exams. And he had excelled in both, bagging the first rank. Sreekumar’s love for magic has not ceased. ‘’I would love to study more and if the University or the Academy starts a higher level course, I would definitely join,’’ he smiles.  His wife, Prasilda, is a teacher and their only daughter Aparna is a Class 9 student.