Chandigarh, Aug 04: India's famous magician Samrat Shankar has urged the government to take steps to preserve the "dying art" of magic and said he proposed to set up an academy to teach the "tricks of the trade" to budding young talent. "The government should do away with entertainment tax on our shows which will enable more people to watch, thus encouraging many to become magicians," he said.
Speaking on his proposed academy, the magician said "the aspirants will be trained in the trade and will be awarded with diplomas at the end of the course."
"If the government provides us with land in or around Delhi, it will facilitate the whole process and help preserve the art, which is fighting for its survival in the very land where it once flourished," the 53-year-old magician told here.
Shankar, who mesmerised people here for a month with his shows in a local theatre, said there were "only four magicians of national repute, including himself, left in this country," and added there was a dire need to preserve the art.
Taking a dig at the people who "misused" this art and "befooled and looted people", he alleged that "such people in the garb of Tantriks and godmen only take advantage of the people".
"We can do the same thing and earn crores of rupees by becoming godmen and bluffing people, but our aim is to entertain them and not loot them," the magician said. Bureau Report