Indian magician to perform death-defying fire escape act

Sonny Abraham in Dubai

A magician from Kerala, Gopinath Muthucad, will attempt a spectacular, death-defying 'fire escape act' at the Al Ain festival in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, February 13.

In fact the 32-year-old illusionist is one of the main attractions at this year's festival, an annual event at the Fun City entertainment park in the oasis town of Al Ain in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

As in previous years, the organisers have invited performers from around the world to entertain audiences at the festival, organised every year to coincide with Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations.

''We conducted a random survey among visitors here to ascertain the popular choice for entertainment, and they pitched for Professor Muthucad,'' Fun City manager Adnan Alami said.

Muthucad and his 14-member troupe have been enthralling crowds since the festival began two days ago and are due to perform on all days till it ends on February 21.

He said he had performed the fire escape act at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala in February 1995 to become the first magician in the world to do so after the great Harry Houdini's feat way back in 1904.

This will be only the second time that he will be performing the Houdini-style stunt. Houdini himself had performed the act only once. Muthucad said he had vowed, after the Thiruvananthapuran performance, never to repeat the act, but would make an exception for the crowds in Al Ain.

''After succeeding in my first attempt at this act in Thiruvananthapuram I vowed that like my hero Houdini, once was enough and I would never perform the trick again. But the crowds in Al Ain have been tremendous and many people have asked me to perform the stunt here. After a great deal of consideration, I have decided to go ahead with it this Thursday," he said.

As part of the act, Muthucad is handcuffed, chained and hung upside down from a crane. He will be lowered into a haystack, which is then set alight.

''Within seconds, I was minus fetters and outside the fire'', the magician said of his earlier performance.

''I will have only seconds to get out, after that it can be too late'', he said.

The organisers of the festival are expecting huge crowds for Thursday's show and have made elaborate arrangements for safety and security.

''It very much looks like this year's festival will be our biggest and best yet with record crowds in attendance'', Alami said.

Muthucad has many other tricks to entertain the crowds at Al Ain during his two-and-a-half hour show.

''Of the 100-odd tricks daily, three or four are really dangerous,'' he said, making special mention of the 'water torture escape act'.

This is the first time that the magician is performing in the UAE, though he has had shows in Oman and Bahrain before.

Other attractions at the festival include dance, music, rides and games, comic skits, a toy circus, mimicry and a vintage car show.

UNI