If you move into a rundown building off a national highway in Howrah this November and are ushered in by a skeleton to a cob webbed dining hall, don't shriek.
Ghosts will take orders from you with a welcome smile and goblins will pop out of frames on walls to sit beside you in a ghost restaurant being constructed by world-famous magician P C Sorcar (junior).
The restaurant is coming up on a secluded spot beside the National Highway-6, a few kilometres from Kolkata and the apparitions will be certainly hosting the earthlings post-Diwali this year.
The dilapidated look of the house, which has graves in the compound, spooky pictures on the walls and small windows, will be accentuated by diffused lighting, laser rays and animated models. Sorcar (junior) is not willing to divulge more.
"Imagine how it will be like if a waiter takes off his own head and puts it on plate while noting orders from the customer. Or if a ghoul springs up from the nearby grave and sits next to you. Or a goblin walks out of the picture frame and asks your name," the master illusionist asked.
"My ghosts will be kind enough to allow one to leave the place through side doors if things become too much for him to bear. But if one stays till the end, he will only become less superstitious by knowing magic is nothing but science and ghostly acts are all executed by humans," Sorcar (junior) explained.
The guests will get to savour multi-cuisine dishes but the USP will be the other-worldly virtual show, probably the country's first such venture, the magician said.
"My purpose is not to start a restaurant business and make profits; I want to provide unadulterated fun to people of all ages and educate people about what magic is all about. It is nothing supernatural, god-gifted, but plain science," Sorcar (junior), added.
The restaurant will be open on all seven days with Sorcar (junior), his magician daughter Maneka, other members of the family and members of the troupe monitoring the show.
"I am sure it will be a one-stop destination for tourists and local people," he says.
