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Mohammed Chhel: The People's Magician
By Frank Grey
Born in the village Nirigala of Saurashtra (India) in about 1850 AD, Mohammed Chhel was reputed to be both a mystic and a magician. However, he does not fit into the usual mould of sleight-of-hand artistes or tricksters like other great other magicians like Houdini. Mohammed Chhel had an impressive extrovert personality. With his metal-rimmed glasses, he looked more of an intellectual. He had a prominent nose, thin lips, flowing beard and slightly upturned mustaches. A coiled turban and a waistcoat made him look urbane. In the closing years of 19th century and the early prt of the 20th, Mohammed Chhel had become quite famous. Chhel was not a stage performer and had no use for any props or equipments. He performed improptu against the backdrop of spontaneous flow of life. He differed from the other magicians in the way that he was an instant conjurer and most of his acts were performed on running trains that traveled to and fro the countryside. The passengers were peasants and simple village folk. He entertained them with his acts, occasionally extending support to the needy. His performances were meant to define life more emphatically. There was no cause and effect relationship in his acts and they transcended material bounds of reality. This people's magician had a robust sense of humor also and enjoyed to see his subjects in sweet predicament as he cast his spell on them. Magic For Fun and Help He could make a train ticket checker shell-shocked by producing an avalanche of tickets out of his chin. He could decouple a running train with only the engine chugging away. He freed a poor peasant from the clutches of moneylender by casting a spell that will not allow him to to get out of his chair. Only when he wrote off the falsified debts, did Chhel let the errant moneylender go unstuck. A troubled merchant wanted to know about his ailing wife in Mumbai. Those were the days when telephones were not a common facility for the village folk. So he came to Mohammed Chhel who put his palm across the merchant's eyes and asked him if he could see his wife. The merchant was relieved to see his wife working in the kitchen hale and hearty. Later the news of her well-being reached him, confirming the powers of Mohammed Chhel. Beware! During a train ride a rich man sitting across Mohammed Chhel held a basket of sweets in his lap. Occasionally he looked around and popped a sweet into his mouth when nobody was looking. Chhel requested the man to share his goodies with fellow passengers who happened to be poor folk. But the man did not pay any heed to this. At this, Mohammad Chhel told him to be careful when he picked up another round of sweets from his basket. Ignoring the warning, the man dipped his hand once more into the basket and pulled out a hissing cobra instead of a sweet. The Mystique of the People's Magician So Mohammed Chhel was not a magician in the usual sense of the term. He made things happen for the benefit of fellow creatures. The date of his death is not known but probably he lived till early twenties of the last century. Did Mohammed Chhel actually work magic? Are all the stories ascribed to him really true? Maybe there is no clear answer to such questions. But nearly after a century of his passing away Mohammed Chhel is remembered till now and his magic is alive in the hearts and memory of people where he weaved his web of legerdemain.
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Contributor's Note
I owe my friend Y M Chitalwala for the information about this article.
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Mohammad Chhel
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Lovely intel, thank you for a most entertaining read
A magician in "training"? Very interesting
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