Ganapati Chakraborty

Ganapati Chakraborty (Bengali: গণপতি চক্রবর্তী; 1858 – 20 November 1939) was a magician from Kolkata known for his mesmerizing tricks. He is considered to be the pioneer of modern magic in Bengal.[2] He was the mentor of P. C. Sorcar and K Lal.

Ganapati Chakraborty
গণপতি চক্রবর্তী
Ganapati Chakraborty, showing his card tricks.
Born1858
Salkia, Bengal, British India
Died20 November 1939
Baranagar, Calcutta[1] Bengal, British India
NationalityBritish India
OccupationMagician
Known forPioneer of modern magic in Bengal

Early life

Chakraborty belonged to a bengali brahmin zamindar family[3] in the village of Chhatra near Serampore of Hooghly district. Due to some internal property conflicts, his father Mahendranath Chakraborty moved to Salkia before the birth of his son. In 1858, Ganapati was born in Salkia, a small town in Howrah district. In his childhood, he was not at all interested in studies. He was rather interested in singing and music.

At the age of 17 or 18, he left his home for the company of Hindu monks in order to learn esoteric knowledge and supernatural healing techniques. In this period he also came in touch with Khestrapal Basak, his first magic teacher and a few other magicians like, Jawaharlal Dhar.[2]

Career
Ganapati Chakraborty (seated 3rd from left) with the members of Great Bengal Circus.

Chakraborty began his career at the Great Bengal Circus as comedian where he became famous through his fun tricks. Soon he began to show magic tricks. His two acts "Illusion Box" and "Illusion Tree" mesmerized the audience. During his 1908 Singapore tour with Priyanath Bose's Circus, his tricks with the cards and his vanishing act proved to be successful.[4]

He developed his famous trick "Kangsha Karagar".[2]

Ganapati showing Kangsha Karagar

The audience believed that he was endowed with supernatural powers. He earned the accolade of the best performer in Professor Bose's Circus. He was a man of short temper and unruly speech. Because of this nature, his colleagues bestowed upon him the sobriquet - Durbasa Muni.[2]

Later, Chakraborty left Professor Bose's Circus and formed his own circus with a few performers from the former. He toured all over India and earned a great amount of fame and money.[2]

Later life

In his later life, Chakraborty built a house and a temple in Baranagar near Kolkata. His spent the rest of his life in spiritual pursuit. He penned in book in Bengali titled 'যাদুবিদ্যা'. He decided to donate this property to Sri Bhupendra Nath Roy Chowdhury[2]

References
  1. Uttam Mandal. "যাদুগুরু গণপতি চক্রবর্তী ও তাঁর যাদু কথা" (in Bengali). risingbengal.in. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  2. Sengupta, Subhodh Chandra; Basu, Anjali, eds. (January 2002). গণপতি চক্রবর্তী [Ganapati Chakraborty]. Samsad Bangali Charitabhidhan (Bibliographical Dictionary) (in Bengali). Vol. 1 (4th ed.). Kolkata: Shishu Sahitya Samsad. p. 127. ISBN 81-85626-65-0.
  3. "This way magic, that way tragic". Hindustan Times. 4 August 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  4. "Bose's Circus". The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. Singapore. 15 October 1908. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
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