From Bengal’s villages to BBC’s frenzy, PC Sorcar scripted a life of wonder. On that fateful 1956 Panorama broadcast, his saw hovered over a supine assistant; transmission cut, birthing hysteria. Newspapers wailed of televised horror, but Pratuj Chandra Sorcar, born 1913, had orchestrated the ultimate illusion, birthing his reign as magic’s monarch.
Heir to mystic forebears, Sorcar’s brilliance shone in math honors. ‘Indrajaal,’ honed with guru Ganapati Chakravarti, married rigorous science to spectacle, challenging biases of Indian fakirs. As jeweled maharaja, he conquered Western hearts in iconic cities.
Espionage wove through his tale: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s influence turned tours into treks for liberty. Trunks ferried secrets; Japan missions in 1932 fueled the fight with Rash Behari Bose via performance profits.
Masterpieces abounded: perpetual ‘India’s Water’ via mechanics and metaphysics; ‘X-Ray Eyes’ piercing blindfolds to inscribe exotica. Magic, to him, echoed natya shastra’s rasas, embodying ‘maya.’
Pioneer of progress, he launched the All India Magic Circle, authored seminal works, advocating magic’s scholarly status. His January 6, 1971, exit closed a chapter, but PC Sorcar’s blueprint for modern Indian magic endures eternally.