Magicians 'seal' the fate of Goa politicians in a bank vault By Frederick Noronha
PANAJI (Goa), May 30: Even before a single vote could be cast, the fate of politicians contesting Goa's May 30 elections has been sealed -- not in a ballot-box. Magicians here claim they can accurately predict the fate of the ambitious men and few women trying to make it big via electoral politics. Late Tuesday evening, the Goa Magicians Guild, in the presence of journalists representing the local and outstation press, offered their predictions of who would win Goa's critical elections. But, in true magic style, there's a trick attached. Predictions were tightly sealed in a wooden box, and handed over to Mahesh Parikh, a banker of the State Bank of India. These predictions of the mystery men will be kept away safely in a bank vault, till after the election results are formally out on June 1, and then the citizen will be able to judge the efficacy of the magician -- vis a vis the non-delivery that politicians have come to be known for. "We spoke to some official in the Election Office, and they said that such predictions had never been done. Since this was the case, they didn't know what the rules were. So, they told us to go ahead and decide (whether it was within the law or beyond)," says veteran magician D.Satish, half in jest. Satish has been four decades in magic, and says proudly: "My first victim was General Vassalo Silva, the last Portuguese Governor of (colonial) Goa." This popular magician is a well known figure across Goa, having put up shows that a generation grew up with. In fact, Satish at one stage even employed as a stage-manager a person who's stage-name was Z.Somu -- Somnath Zuwarkar, who went on to become an often-controversial minister in multiple Congress ministries in Goa, and is currently contesting the Taleigao assembly constituency. "We have declared the number of candidates who are going to lose their deposits, and also how many seats each party will get," said Magician Dandrake (38), one of the younger but professional crop in the field. Dandrake is Remy Rodrigues in real life. "We are cock-sure that our predictions will be over 90% correct. It could be even 100% correct," said Dandrake, who in real life also runs an advertising business and was one-time an employee in the 'Herald' newspaper of Goa. Satish says this trick comes under the category of 'extra sensory perception' magic. "This is a publicity stunt, as our club is very new," the quick-witted magician who seemingly never runs short of amazing stories to narrate admits, with a smile on his face. This trick was last tried some 30 years back. Two journalists who were also in the profession at that time -- Waman Prabhu and Vijay Gad -- remember their participation in the event, but could not recall if the predictions were accurate then. Public memory, as they say, is short! Goa's Magicians Guild was launched in March 2002, at the hands of current BJP chief minister Manohar Parrikar, currently locked in a bitter battle with the Congress to retain his strangle-hold in power in a state where the BJP has never won an election in the past. "We set it up to protect our profession and take our interests forward," says Magician Dandrake. "We have about 7-8 magicians (in this small state) now, which is a sufficient number to work with," says he. Cocksure though they may be, the magicians might face a tough time in an instability-prone state like Goa, where politicians themselves are unsure which party they are going to be part of even six months down the line. Unless, of course, the magicians -- like the politicians -- have some trick up their sleeve. But at least we know they're magicians... =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet =================================================================== For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
