'Tricking' the city into loving them

LUDHIANA: When King Cobra, Mogambo and Saggu Sarkar took stage on Thursday the city fell in love with their tricks. Magicians from Ludhiana, King Cobra and Mogambo, did shows in the city on the occasion of famous magician P C Sarkar (senior)'s birth anniversary, celebrated as National Magician Day. Mogambo held a show at the community centre in Model Town for an audience of 150 people, mostly women and kids. King Cobra performed for children of Bal Bhawan and the social workers helping them. He was accompanied by 39 magicians, including 12 from the city.Rajan Kumar, a businessman from Sarabha Nagar who watched the magic show at Model Town said he was thoroughly entertained. "I went with my 18-year-old son Jatin Kumar. I liked the trick where Mogambo brought out flowers, fruits and umbrella from a small box and in the end took out the national flag,'' he said.Vomil Mittal, a banker who stays in Jalandhar bypass, also heaped praises on Mogambo. "The magician had classy tricks. The show made my day,'' he said.Mogambo, 40, said his actual name is Jagdeep Singh and he stays in Dugri. "I think the programme was a perfect tribute to the great P C Sarkar."Those who saw the six-hour show in Bal Bhawan also could not stop talking about it. Cheema Chowk-resident Jaspal Kaur, a social worker, said, "The audience watched the magicians almost without batting their eyelids. The children laughed loud." Jasjeet Singh, 10, said, "I loved the part where a magician brought out a pigeon from an small, empty box." King Cobra aka Amar Iqbal Singh of Samrala Chowk said he has been performing magic for more than 20 years. "The kids cheered at all my tricks but I got the loudest applause when I made a table to float in air," he added.