Traditional illusionists struggle to survive

A Sudagaadu Sidda performing a trick.

A Sudagaadu Sidda.

People, especially children, watch a Sudagaadu Sidda performing a trick.

'Ja...ja...ja..Ee beejakke mooru mantra-mooru tantra....huttthh... harrr...harrr...harrr..'

These weird words in a piping voice drew my attention while passing through Kalkeri village in Koppal district. As I went closer to the voice, I could see a group of curious children, women and others oohing and aahing beneath a roadside tree. Suddenly, a Chinnv sound emerges from the crowd and all burst into laughter.

This time, I couldn't resist and so, tried to peep in to know what was happening there. What I could see was a man wearing a glittering robe with Kumkum and Vibhuthi on his forehead and strings of Rudrakshi and Lingadkai around his neck performing some tricks. The man had tied a red rumaal (a type of turban) around the head and it was decorated with strings of pearls and peacock feathers at the tip.

He had a small bag beside him and in a typical style, he took out a seed from the bag while reciting the weird words 'beejakke mooru mantra-mooru tantra....huttthh... harrr...harrr...harrr'. He kept the seed in his mouth and voila! a small idol of Basavanna appeared, leaving the crowd amused.

The illusionist continues with his signature tricks. He quickly 'swallowed' ten stones of the size of laddu and got it out one by one with ease. He also 'instructed' a coconut to move and it 'agreed' to the master. Amid this, he pulled out some toys from his bag to attract children, and some frogs, and scorpions to scare people. And all these make the spectators laugh hard and give him a round of applause.

The entire show lasted for about 15 to 20 minutes but the vibrant tricks continued to linger for days to come.

For generations, the community of the Sudugadu Siddha has been entertaining people with their impressive tricks, humorous dialogues and presentation. It is said that even ancient rulers used to summon Sudugadu Siddhas to perform in their courts.

Waning folk art

But sadly, this attractive folk art called Sudugadu Siddhara Aata' has been waning away in recent days. With youths showing more interest in other sources of entertainment, the number of performers in the State has been coming down constantly. If the situation continues, the art may soon be history.

There are around 53 families of Sudugadu Siddha (classified under Scheduled Caste) residing in Kalkeri village in Koppal district. But of them, only families of Gurappa Ganti, Yallappa Ganti, Chandrappa Ontethinavar, Hulagappa Ganti, Sabanna Ontethinavar and Hanumanth Ganti have continued performing as illusionists on the streets while the remaining have moved on to other professions. Some from the community have even opted for higher education and are occupying prestigious professional positions. Overall, only around 50 people in Koppal district perform as illusionists today.

However, performing illusionary tricks has not been the main occupation of the community. It is believed that during times of crisis, they protected the village by their 'magical powers'. Even today, whenever there is a death in the village, the last rites are performed after giving some offerings to the community members. The dead body is buried in the grave only after a Sudagadu Sidda sits in it for a while and comes out. Some people from the community also wear saffron robes.

Uplifting the community

To uplift the community from such discrimination and to bust myths, there have been attempts to showcase their skills of performing magic as an art. For the past few years, they are being given the opportunity to perform in fairs and festivals also. Even some schools invited them to entertain their students. But the pandemic has thrown their lives out of gear and they are struggling to keep their kitchens running.

Many of the Sudugadu Siddhas want the younger generation also to learn the art bequeathed from their ancestors. The art cannot be learnt with a casual attitude and needs a lot of concentration, effort and practice. Yet, not many youths are coming forward to learn it, and so, these 'last' masters of the art are waiting for their successors.