In Conversation with Northeast’s first Street Magician: Illusionist Mon

 Kaustab Chakraborty speaks to Illusionist Mon, Northeast’s first Street Magician about his various ventures and endeavours to make magic an all-encompassing experience

Remember a David Blaine treading through streets catching people off guard and leaving others awestruck with his quirky magic tricks? Now, the experience comes out of TV to the roads as our city has its own Street Magician. Illusionist Mon is all set to cause sensation in the streets of Guwahati with his sleight of hand spectacles.

Assam and the Northeast is not new to his magical talents though.  Mon’s breakthrough in the world of magic in Assam came in 2010 through the television show, The Street Magic: From Point Blank Range which completed 100 episodes in its inaugural season and was followed by another show named 3G Magic in 2012.

“The amount of love and appreciation I have received till now is very heart whelming, and it encourages me to devote myself towards the art of magic and finding myself in a constant quest of bringing new element to it,” Illusionist Mon states.

The new element, of course, was in the form of Street Magic. He concentrated in the genre which was quite a fresh experience to the magic lovers and the public in general in the Northeast. Now a seasoned magician, Illusionist Mon has added the touch of glamour and created a craze among the young and old for the fading performing art of magic. He has performed over 500 stage shows all over Northeast till now. He has incorporated acts like Guerilla Magic and Open stunt illusions in Assam.

Born in Daisajan near Doomdooma town in Upper Assam, Monikut Buragohain aka Illusionist Mon did his elementary education in Doomdooma & Tinsukia and later did Engineering. But his real skill surfaced quite early in age as he started doing magic shows since he was 10 years old. Various extensive study and rigorous practice later, Illusionist Mon started developing a unique style and incorporated an international feel to his performances.

Magic isn’t confined to its entertainment factor alone. There is much more to it and this is what Illusionist Mon has captured. Talking about an International Magic Therapy he has brought for the first time to India called “Healing of Magic (HOM)”, the magician says, “HOM is a therapy which is used in different parts of the world which deals with some specific disorders like paralysis, accident injuries, nerve problems as well as depression anxiety and mental illness. Kevin Spencer, a USA based Illusionist who has introduced HOM has given me the authority to launch this project in India. I have a team of ten Experts along with professional therapist, doctors and volunteers working on this.”

Mon also extends his magic skills to other line of works too working as Technical Consultant for the use of illusion effects for films, theatres and television.

He further talks about his various other ventures. “In honour of Jadu Samrat M. Hussian, we plan to celebrate Magican Day in Assam every year on his death anniversary. My team Kuhelika and I have also launched the fresh concept of ‘Magical Dining’ in the hotels and restaurants in Guwahati, something that is widely appreciated in western countries. This is in form of activities which actually eliminates the boredom people go through between the time of order being placed and served,” he notes.

“Last year I made a short film on Reckless Driving named Relive In Past (R.I.P) which was quite appreciated by the viewers over facebook and youtube and it was even telecast on a TV Channel. Right now, I am working on my ongoing TV show Jadu.. Axomor Rahashyamoi Mon,” Illusionist Mon maintains.