New Delhi: It seems that Chhattisgarh's tourism and culture minister Ajay Chandrakar is really depressed with the increasing number of Maoist attacks in the state.
With the recent Maoist attacks fresh in his mind, the minister who was present to watch renowned magician Anand's show, suggested him to do some ‘jaadu' to eliminate the rebels as well.
Chandrakar was astonished to see Anand's performance tricks like “chopping” a boy into two and bringing him back to shape and hoped that Anand would be able to do something related to Maoist elimination as well. The offer even left the veteran performer amused.
Speaking to The Indian Express later, Chandrakar termed Maoism “apsanskriti (bad culture)” that can be countered by positive elements of culture like magic.
“I told him (Anand) that you are the bhanja (nephew) of Chhattisgarh. This is considered an extremely sacred relation in Chhattisgarh. You should perform such magic that frees your nanihal (home of maternal grandmother) of Maoism,” Chandrakar said. Anand's mother hails from Raipur in Chhatisgarh.
But the renowned magician held a different viewpoint regarding this. According to him this would not work on Maoists as their actions are rooted in an ideology. “I told him (minister) that hypnotism has its limitations. You can hypnotise a person, but cannot make him do anything against his core beliefs,” he said.
He added that an insurgency begins when a person loses his feelings. The spread of culture restores this sensitivity, but it might not be possible in the case of the Maoists as “it's an extremely deep-rooted thing, reflection of government's policies.”
A native of Jabalpur, 64-year-old Anand is in Raipur for a month. His shows are continuously witnessing packed audience. He and his son Junior Anand have performed some of the most famous magic tricks like fire escape, water escape, besides a host of stage illusions.
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