“If you perform a dangerous trick perfectly, you are a magician. If you fail, it is always tragic.” This is what Kolkata-based magician Chanchal Lahiri reportedly proclaimed moments before performing an underwater escape stunt in the Hooghly river which took an unfortunate turn and resulted in his death on Sunday, 16 June.
The magician drowned after he was lowered into the river standing in a six-foot tall cage with six-locks. Eyewitnesses said he disappeared near pillar number 28 of the Howrah Bridge.
On Monday, 17 June, the chained body of the magician was found near Ramkrishnapur ghat in Howrah.
A Series of Misadventures?
This was the second time that the 40-year-old, who also went by the name 'Mandrake', was performing the stunt in the same river. In 2013, his Houdini-inspired act was met with protests and heckling from onlookers, who accused him of using a false door and cheating them.
“I have performed around the world and held more than 2,500 shows. I didn't cheat anybody,” was Lahiri's response to the accusations at the time.
Prior to the 2013 incident, 'Mandrake' Lahiri had declared on two separate occasions that he would walk on the Hooghly River and the Ganges. However, these acts never really worked out.
A YouTube page by the name 'Chanchal Lahiry', purportedly belonging to the magician himself, showcases a few of the magic tricks and stunts he had performed.
One shows him 'flying' next to a truck on a street as a crowd follows him. Another shows him being lifted up by a crane and placed in a structure that seems to be made of straws. The structure is then set on fire, and Lahiri is seen coming out of it unscathed.
Inspired by Harry Houdini
On Sunday, ‘Mandrake’ Lahiri was attempting to imitate the legendary 19th century Hungarian magician Harry Houdini, who was best known for his ‘water torture cell’ acts. In the act, he would be suspended upside down in a locked glass cabinet and would hold his breath for over three minutes as he escaped from the water-filled tank.
“The magic that Lahiri was to perform was very risky and complicated,” an onlooker was quoted by PTI as saying.
He was not only to be blindfolded, but his hands and legs were also to be tied. He was to be picked up in that position from the boat by a crane stationed on the Howrah Bridge, that would, in turn, lower him into the river. The magic was that he would come up from the water after untying himself.
Accordingly, he went to the middle of the river, just underneath the bridge from where he was picked up by the crane and thrown into the river near pillar number 28 of the bridge.
The spectators, who had gathered to cheer for him, began panicking after a few minutes passed and Lahiri was not seen coming out of the water.
After a frantic search operation was conducted by authorities, Lahiri’s body was eventually found a day later on Monday, 16 June.
(With inputs from The Times of India and PTI)
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