Magic – an art of producing illusions by sleight of hand; Shadowgraphy – an art of performing a story or show using images made by hand shadows;
Puppetry – the art of operating puppets, typically either by strings controlled from above or by hand. To watch them on one platform was a captivating experience.
Art of Magic, Puppetry and Shadowgraphy was presented by Mr. Prahlad Acharya in our school, Sri Prakash Vidyaniketan, the best cbse school in Visakhapatnam. I had never seen a magic show, puppetry or shadowgraphy live. I was enchanted when Mr. Prahlad demonstrated those art forms on the stage. At first, the magic show grabbed my attention and held me locked in the tricks shown by him. I was unable to understand how he could perform it. I doubted the magic shown, not until one of the fellow friends performed the act with him. It was so interesting that I would like to watch more magic shows in my life.
Puppetry, it was hilarious and magnificent. It alleviated our pressure of studies and led us to belly laugh. He was great in operating the puppet and the coordination was substantial. I could hear roars of laughter in the hall and with that it was a clear message that everyone wanted the show to go on and on. It created a lighter environment and I enjoyed it a lot.
The last act, Shadowgraphy, I can guarantee that it touched everyone’s heart, including me. I was engrossed in the hand shadow performance and did not want to come out of it. Images of great personalities created by hand were awe – inspiring and the music along with that was icing on the cake. I was unable to figure out, could shadowgraphy be so stupendous. The next act that he portrayed with his hand was a beautiful relationship between an animal mother and child. The song played in the background along with the act was from the famous movie ‘Taare Zameen Par’. It had a stunning impact on me and the students as I could see and feel the tears rolling down our cheeks and eyes being locked up on the screen. The hall that was filled with laughter earlier had now turned into silence. The acts were breathtaking and also had been engraved in my mind and heart that I could never forget.
The experience of watching these acts was amazing. How much effort sir may have put to learn these skills? Bringing a smile on a face and making others happy is an outstanding work and that is what sir has done. Mr.Prahlad’s astounding talents gave me a lot of happiness and relieved me from the study pressure. His acts were not only filled with fun but also had learning in it. It inculcates moral values in us and shows us the methods to make our studies simple. In future I am sure whenever I will recall these incredible acts, there will always be a smile on my face and also feel happy to have seen it.