There are no fears of a shaken economy at its flea market, where hawkers sell goldfish in clear plastic bags.

Over the bedlam and electronic pop music, a voice in heavy Bengali blares over the loudspeaker: "Sorcar, P C Sorcar. . .jadoo Sorcar, magic Sorcar..."

Amidst the bustling marketplace, a queue to enter Sarat Sadan starts to form. There is a buzz of curiosity among the waiting children, ending only when the doors to the new auditorium are thrown open.

The seats take time to fill up, thanks to the torrential rain outside. While we wait, laser lights criss-cross the ceiling, and more eardrum-shattering music blasts across the hall. Finally the lights dim, and P C Sorcar Jr, son of the legendary P C Sorcar Sr, makes his appearance. An evening of magic has begun.

The following day, far from the bustle of the evening before, in quaint Ballygunge in the heart of Kolkata, it isn't difficult to find the jadoogar ka ghar. Everyone knows Indrajal and the lane named after its most famous resident.

Tucked behind the local tram terminus, P C Sorcar Lane retains its original cobblestone pavement, though a new shopping mall is coming up opposite Indrajal. Within the house too, change is evident.

Here, PC Jr is simply dressed in a cotton T and trousers, hardly recognisable outside his trademark sherwanis and egret-feathered turbans. A portrait of Sorcar Sr dominates the room that was inherited by his son in 1971 when his father collapsed while performing in Tokyo.

Text: Anand Sankar, Business Standard

Image: Magician P C Sorcar. | Photograph: Diptendu Dutta/AFP/Getty Images