- Published
Sitting in his cramped Delhi home, Ishamuddin Khan can still make a rope appear to rise into the air.
asserted
rope → publish → air
The 55-year-old magician spent decades performing a trick once dismissed as legend, and still keeps photographs and newspaper clippings from his years of international fame.
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magician → spend → fame
These days, he spends more time looking back at those memories than performing the trick.
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he → spend → trick
"The times have changed," he says.
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he → change → ?
"Street magic is dying a slow death.
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magic → die → death
Khan's story reflects a wider change in India, where traditional street performers are finding it increasingly difficult to make a living from their craft.
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it → reflect → craft
Magicians, jugglers, puppeteers and acrobats once made a living from crowds in public spaces.
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Magicians → make → spaces
Changing entertainment habits and tighter restrictions have made audiences harder to find, pushing many out of the profession.
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audiences → change → profession
Khan, one of India's best-known magicians, comes from the Madari community, which has a long tradition of performing in public spaces.
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which → know → spaces
There are no official figures, but Khan says community records identify about 400 Madari families in Delhi, with hundreds more in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana.
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records → be → Pradesh
Despite their small numbers today, the Madaris trace their roots back centuries.
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Madaris → trace → roots
Historian Ashok Mathur says Madari traditions have roots in Indian folklore, mythology and the long history of travelling performers.
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traditions → say → performers
"For generations, these skills were passed through families," he explains.
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he → pass → families
Khan followed the same path, learning magic from his father and uncles and performing from the age of 12.
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Khan → follow → 12
By his early 20s, he had mastered the rope trick that would later make him famous.
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him → master → trick
The trick – in which a rope appears to rise into the air before a boy climbs it – was long associated with the mythology of Indian street magic and widely considered impossible, until Khan performed it.
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Khan → appear → it
He says it took six years to master the trick, which he first performed publicly in 1995 outside Delhi's iconic Qutub Minar.
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he → say → Minar
Two years later, he performed it before 30,000 people on a beach in Karnataka.
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he → perform → Karnataka
His trick brought international attention, and that led to tours to the UK, France, Germany and Japan.
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that → bring → UK
Khan hoped the fame would shine a light on India's traditional performers.
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fame → hop → performers
For a while, it did.
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it → do → while
But the attention faded.
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attention → fade → ?
As audiences turned to new forms of entertainment and public performance opportunities dwindled, many magicians found it harder to make a living from skills passed down through generations.
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it → turn → generations
Once a magician, Imam now makes a living collecting bottles and recyclables from Delhi's streets.
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Imam → make → streets
He spends much of his time rag-picking near a western Delhi dump, earning about 200 rupees ($2; £1.57) a day.
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He → spend → rupees
Experts say the decline in street performance has multiple causes, chief among them the changing nature of public spaces.
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chief → say → spaces
Anurupa Roy, founder of Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust, says performers increasingly struggle to find audiences as public spaces shrink.
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spaces → say → audiences
"Closed parks and residential societies that bar outsiders are limiting spaces for performance."
Researcher and performer Komita Dhanda says changing attitudes to public spaces are also driving the decline.
"
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attitudes → close → decline
With tighter security, especially in busy town and city centres, there is little space left for street performers," she says.
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she → be → performers
It is not just individual artists who struggle to get permission.
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who → struggle → permission
Dhanda says her well-known street theatre group, Jana Natya Manch, often faces hurdles performing in public spaces.
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group → say → spaces
For many artists, the challenge is not just finding a venue but navigating unclear rules over what is allowed.
uncertain
what → find → rules
Most street performers rely on voluntary payments, but experts say the line between performing for money and begging can blur.
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line → rely → money
Unlike the UK, India has no federal busking framework.
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India → have → framework
Performers instead navigate state-level rules on public order, obstruction, noise and public land.
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Performers → navigate → order
"This is why street performers often have to face municipal and police regulations governing public spaces, as well as state-specific anti-begging laws," says lawyer Kaushik Mitra.
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Mitra → have → spaces
For many artists, Covid made a bad situation worse.
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situation → make → artists
When India imposed its 2020 lockdown, public performances stopped.
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performances → impose → lockdown
Many magicians returned to their villages; some never came back.
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some → return → villages
"We saw a decline in public performances after this period," Dhanda says.
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Dhanda → see → period
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
