Like father, like daughter. She is the sparkling child magician in the Indian Magic scene. Her name: Pearl Bhumgara.

She captures her audience’s attention with her incredible magic effects, innovative techniques in magic and jugglery, and a magnificent stage presence.

Pearl is the first Indian to win the prestigious Junior Stage Magic Contest of the Society of American Magicians (SAM). This achievement has not only brought a big feather in the cap for the Society of Indian Magic (SIM) of which Pearl is a member, but has also put India in the spotlight in the international world of magic.

Pearl’s proud dad Mhelly, who is an acclaimed magician himself, is jubilant about his daughter’s remarkable achievement at Milwaukee, USA, where she won the Junior Stage Magic Contest on June23, 2000. The SAM award is the ultimate in the international field of magic.  He proudly proclaims, "She was even awarded a medal of merit for excellence in magic talent and was the only magician to be awarded this medal in this year’s competition organized by SAM. Pearl is the youngest magician to win the SAM silver medal (merit award). This is the first time in the history of SAM that a magician below 12 years of age has been awarded this merit. This proves that India’s magical talent has a promising future. Magic is one of the most fascinating hobbies and a wonderful performing art. It is internationally acclaimed as being a top entertainment art, especially in advanced countries, where it has been thoroughly researched and developed to unbelievable heights."

Though Pearl is serious about magic, she still considers it to be a hobby. The first time she won an award was when she just turned eight. It was at the Festival of Magic in Bangalore, where she won her first award for magic. ``She won a commendatory certificate and a cash award of Rs 7000, which I presumed that she would like to spend   on herself. At that age, Pearl was crazy about chewing gum and I expected her to say that she would buy chewing gum with this amount!  I was shocked to hear her saying that she would donate the entire amount to charity. In fact, all her earnings from private magic performances and the prize money she wins at the magic shows, she donates. She performs free of charge at functions conducted by institutions for the mentally and physically challenged, for terminally ill medical care centers, and for hospices and  charity organizations. These regular performances help her tone up her magic skills,’’ claims Pearl’s mother Kaizad.  

It was Kaizad who secretly trained Pearl in some of   the rudimentary magic skills, since  Mhelly was against introducing Pearl to magic because she was only 4 years old. He felt that she was too young to understand the ethics of magic performance.

Says Kaizad, `` When Pearl was around 30 months  old, she dressed up as a magician for a fancy dress competition organized by a local school in south Mumbai. This made her believe that she was a magician.  Though I am not a trained magician, I have been exposed to magic by Mehlly. When Pearly was 4 years old, I got her to promise me that only if she kept it a closely guarded secret from Mhelly, would I secretly train her in the skills of magic. On Pearl’s fifth birthday party, she surprised Mhelly with her solo performance in magic. From that day, Mehlly took over.  Magic has taken Pearl to places in India and abroad.”

Around two month ago, Pearl performed at the Gala Nite of the International  Brotherhood of  Magicians’ Convention in Buffalo (USA).  In March 1999, she had performed at the Aga Khan Hospital in Dare es Salaam (Tanzania) and subsequently in November 1999, she even performed in Hong Kong  at the Society of Hong Kong Magicians show.

Pearl has been featured in the book Wheel of Destiny written by Japanese author Mami Yamada, and at the book’s launch in New Delhi on March 9, 2000, Pearl enthralled a huge gathering of   international diplomats. 

Pearl is now on her way to Japan as an ambassador of  India for Friendship, where she has been invited for a 10-day  visit by Nagano International Friendship Club (NIFC).

Author: Mani D’Mello