#366 - The Boy Who Made Magic : P.C.Sorcar

by Lavanya Karthik

“The Boy Who Made Magic : P.C.Sorcar” by Lavanya Karthik. Published by Duckbill. A delightful short biography of the childhood of one of the world’s greatest magicians who completely changed the way the world looked at Indian magicians.

Before he became the world famous Jadusamrat P.C.Sorcar, as he called himself, he was a little boy called Protul. The story starts off with the circus coming to town. People of Calcutta had come to watch the greatest magician of that time called Ganapati Chakraborty perform his tricks. Everyone was spellbound by his magic though the Britishers who ruled India at that time hardly cared. They didn’t think much about Indian magicians.

After the show, a curious and hopeful Protul visited Ganapati Chakraborty’s home. He requested the magician to take him as his student and teach him magic. Chakraborty was amused and asked the boy to show him what he already knew. The boy demonstrated his skills readily. Ganapati asked him an important question as to where magic began. What was Protul’s reply going to be? Would his answer satisfy Chakraborty? Would he take Protul as his student and teach him? Read the spellbinding story of how Jadusamrat P.C.Sorcar was once upon a time a little boy wanting to learn the art of magic.

My 8.5 year old and I loved reading this magical book. Protul is a character that one cannot help but admire. His passion, hope, determination and honesty are so inspiring and infectious. His magic is sure to rub off on the readers of this book. It was amazing to know about the childhood of one of the greatest magicians of all time, of not just India but even the world, through this book. His work ensured that the world took notice of Indian magicians at last. And the illustrations are so enchanting and elaborate. The illustrations have been inspired by the Babu Bibi humorous genre of paintings which have evolved from the Kalighat style of painting in Bengal. The book is part of the “Dreamers” series by Duckbill. We have enjoyed every book of the series so far such as the ones on Satyajit Ray, Teejan Bai, R.K.Narayan & R.K.Laxman, Janaki Ammal, Salim Ali, Bachendri Pal and Mahasweta Devi.

Recommended Age

The book is apt for children aged 6 and above.

Disclaimer - We received this book from the publisher, Penguin India (Duckbill), for review. Thank you to Greeshma and Mansi, from Penguin, for sending across the book!