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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Alternative belief systems > Occult studies > Satanism & demonology
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Net of Magic (Paperback, New)
Loot Price: R1,507
Discovery Miles 15 070
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Net of Magic (Paperback, New)
Expected to ship within 10 - 15 working days
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Vast like the subcontinent itself and teeming with outrageous and
exotic characters, "Net of Magic" is an enthralling voyage through
the netherworld of Indian magic. Lee Siegel, scholar and magician,
uncovers the age-old practices of magic in sacred rites and rituals
and unveils the contemporary world of Indian magic of street and
stage entertainers.
Siegel's journeys take him from ancient Sanskrit texts to the slums
of New Delhi to find remnants of a remarkable magical tradition. In
the squalid settlement of Shadipur, he is initiated into a band of
Muslim street conjurers and performs as their shill while they
tutor him in their con and craft. Siegel also becomes acquainted
with Hindu theatrical magicians, who claim descent from court
illusionists and now dress as maharajahs to perform a repertoire of
tricks full of poignant kitsch and glitz.
Masterfully using a panoply of narrative sleights to recreate the
magical world of India, Net of Magic intersperses travelogue,
history, ethnography, and fiction. Siegel's vivid, often comic tale
is crowded with shills and stooges, tourists and pickpockets, snake
charmers and fakirs. Among the cast of characters are Naseeb, a
poor Muslim street magician who guides Siegel into the closed
circle of itinerant performers; the Industrial Magician, paid by a
bank, who convinces his audience to buy traveler's checks by making
twenty-rupee notes disappear; the Government Magician, who does a
trick with condoms to encourage family planning; P. C. Sorcar, Jr.,
the most celebrated Indian stage magician; and the fictive
Professor M. T. Bannerji, the world's greatest magician, who
assumes various guises over a millennium of Indian history and
finally arrives in the conjuring capital of the world--Las Vegas.
Like Indra's net--the web of illusion in which Indian performers
ensnare their audience--"Net of Magic" captures the reader in a
seductive portrayal of a world where deception is celebrated and
lies are transformed into compelling and universal truths.
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