Muthukad melds magic and mantra

WORDS AND TRICKS: Gopinath Muthukad addressing the media at the Party Hall of Quality Hypermarket on his recent visit to Doha. Photo: Nasar TK

After achieving spectacular success as a magician, Gopinath Muthukad has graduated into becoming a motivational speaker, often employing both skills for better results. By Anand HollaGopinath Muthukad was all of 10 when he was set to present his first solo show at a church festival in his home state of Kerala in India. It was an easy rope trick – a cut rope had to be “magically” joined – but the volunteer from the audience gave the catch away. He pulled out the spare rope from Muthukad’s sleeve and waved it around to the crowd’s jeers.Even for a young Muthukad, who hails from Nilambur in the Malappuram district of Kerala, that false start wasn’t going to discourage him. Four decades since, Muthukad has gone on to achieve spectacular success and accolades as a magician. Four years ago, the International Magicians Society (IMS) in New York conferred on him the Merlin Award, regarded as the “Oscar of the magic world”, for his outstanding contribution to the world of alchemy.Down in Doha recently to launch the latest initiative up his sleeve, Muthukad addressed the media at the Party Hall of Quality Hypermarket and even performed a few tricks to drive home some of his points. The magician and professional speaker has come up with M-Cube (Moulding Minds Magically). A fresh twist on motivational talks, M-Cube is a motivation programme blended with magic. After the talk, Muthukad, who swears by his motto of “magic with a mission”, said, “This programme is designed with magic, art, science, logic, curiosity, fun and wonder, through which all the senses can touch your mind. Magic is the perfect art to communicate with the post-conscious mind. It empowers the ordinary mind to perform extraordinarily, which explains Motivation through Magic.”While a young Muthukad could regain his confidence and march on to become a celebrated magician, he has always wanted to help others discover their utmost potential. Being a magician, Muthukad views everything through the prism of magic. “I would think how can I contribute and help others? Hence, I designed this programme mixed with magic,” he said. The programme has been designed with the help of clinical psychologists and the product is a team work of magicians, helmed, of course, by Muthukad. “To achieve great success, one must possess CASH – Confidence, Attention, Sincerity and Hard Work,” he said, “M-Cube is devised for everybody from students and teachers to corporates and employees. In their growing up years, students have to face a lot of difficult situations, made even more complex by distractions such as excessive use of gadgets or social media. We want to make children think positive so that they reach their destinations,” he said.Instead of delivering motivational talks – which, as Muthukad points out, is rampant anyway – M-Cube thrives in the wonders of magic. “You listen to a speech for an hour or two and you forget almost all of it when you leave the auditorium. But this specially designed programme will imprint in your mind,” Muthukad reasons.Muthukad has designed the magic tricks to trigger and enhance values and characteristics that he says would unlock positivity in people. One of M-Cube’s magic tricks, for instance, is called Watch your Watch. Wristwatches collected from the audience are tossed into a bag, then smashed, only to later make an appearance as whole. “The lesson emphasises that you must not only watch your watch but watch your words, actions, thoughts and character, as they are all connected.”While the programme devised for students are different from that of the corporates, the underlying idea is the same. “We will be pouring the same substance in different shaped vessels,” Muthukad said.Having appeared on more than 8,000 stages through his four decades of magical journey that has taken him around 50 countries, Muthukad is now set to take M-Cube wherever it takes him and his team, starting with its debut in Delhi next month. Such mega projects aren’t new for the 51-year-old. In 1996, Muthukad set up a magic academy in Kerala where street magicians were provided with venues to perform, so as to promote magic as an art and keep it alive. Somewhat of a sequel to that initiative was the completely magic-themed complex for children that Muthukad opened last year, to support the traditional magicians. “After being with it for so long, magic is what I know best,” Muthukad said, “So why not use it to its fullest?”