MVI_8896

Tell us a bit about yourself. Your name, where you were born, what you do. Tell us as if we don't know anything. Okay? Tell us about yourself, like you're telling the world. This is my name, I do this work, I was born here I live in this house, my father's name is Naseeb, I'm his son. I've learned from him. Tell us whatever you can about yourself, from childhood until now. All of the events that have happened in your life. Those important events in your life. Tell us all of those. Tell us whatever you can about yourself. My name is Rahman. Rahman Shah. My birthplace is Faridabad. I was born in Faridabad. We used to be wandering people. Here and there, here and there. A month here, twenty days there, four months there. So we went on wandering, that's all. And we went on doing our work. My father, Naseeb Shah he came here to Delhi, to Shadipur. When we came here there was nothing. There were only five or six tents. In five or six tents a few people were puppeteers, a few were acrobats, and then us. So we all started living here. A few more people come along. We turned into 10-15 people. Twenty, twenty five, fifty. So living like this, then... One day a show came to us, telling us to do a magic show. And do a puppet show, and acrobatics. We need a juggler. There wasn't a juggler here. There was a juggler, but he was over by (inaudible place name). A juggler used to live there. So we brought him over from there. So we did a show. I don't really remember. We did it at Teen Murti Bhavan. At the Prime Minister's house. Rajeev Sethi arranged it. So our show there was so successful that after that Rajeev Sethi got us together and formed a group. He formed our group... at that time there were few people here. At that time, in 1985, my father went to America. When he went to America, we were here. Then more and more people came. At first we were really happy. It was very open here. We even slept outside at night. We had a tent. These houses weren't here. There were tents, so we slept in tents. If it got hot then we opened them up. Now it happened like this... People kept coming. A few more. It filled up a bit more, a bit more, a bit more... And we became so many... Now what happens? Our families became many. Now a man who came here single thirty or forty years ago He had five or six kids, and they're all married. And these five or six kids had kids. So now how can so many people live in one room? Now my father started living in Ghaziabad. I started living here. My little brother started living here. Our younger sister over there. So all of this is happening... No one knows about the pipes... There used to be pipes and a sewer. It was good, it was open. There were facilities for everything. Someone built a little house and crept in a little further. Someone else built a house and crept in further. But there is still one thing in us... When we were ready to live in Shadipur... Our sisters and daughters in this colony are safe. Because our culture here in Kathputli Colony is like a family. There daughters come to our place. Our daughters go to the market and shop. There's nothing to fear. There's unity here. Those old people who were here before have died. Now the children of these new people, there's still something in them that, even now... We're safe here. Delhi is so dangerous. Our children are safe here even now. Children wander around until eleven or twelve o'clock at night. They see it on tv. If a thief hits the door it will open, and he'll take everything and run. But here there aren't any thefts. Why not? The other person knows that this is my brother. People over there know that Rahman lives there. It's not good to steal there. So this is thing is a part of us even now. How did I learn magic? I didn't know what a magic show is. I didn't know how to play the drum. I didn't know how to play the drum or the flute or anything. I just studied. I was in school. I used to study... and, while studying... one or two times I went with my grandfather. My father's father. I went with him. They used to do it like this... they were older people. So what did he do? He didn't ask for money. What did he do? He did the whole magic show. The same magic as this. He performed this way: After performing he used to ask for flour. He used to ask for rice and bread. He used to get so much flour that we used to eat for three or four days. He used to get rice. They didn't have money at that time. He got tons to eat. A new generation came along. Change came along. They left the streets and neighborhoods and came to the markets. I went with my grandfather and I watched and said, man, this... I watched it from this point of view, that it's a magic show. It slowly became apparent that this was a very lucrative. Do this and you'll make a lot. I said, I'll learn magic. I learned it, and it didn't come. No one showed me. My father said, do it like this, do it like this. Then I started going with my father to Jamura. There was my little brother. He knew it all. I didn't. My little brother would perform. I went on looking and said, do it like this, man. Now do it like this. I learned by watching. And after learning, my kids were born. My kids do it now too. I don't show them. They also learn on their own. Tell us about your daily life. Meaning? How does your day start, what do you do all day. Right when I wake up I drink tea. Sunday, Monday, and... Wednesday. These are three days that are great for magic in the street. These three days are such that if I go I'll come back with 3,000 to 4,000 rupees. Because there are markets going on, rich people come. I pray on Fridays. The rest of the days... I just work these three days. I get up in the morning, I do a magic show. I come back home in the afternoon. I rest for three or four hours then if I get the chance I set up and do two magic shows. The magic that you perform and the magic that's done in the world on stages, what's the difference? Look... This magic is stage magic. These people who perform magic need publicity. They should have a hall booked first. If there's not a hall then there won't be a magic show. If there's no publicity then no one will come to watch. If tickets don't sell then they're finished. People come to see their shows When people come to watch, they leave home with this in their minds that we're going to see Franz Harary's show. The show will start at four, will be finished by five, and at six we'll go to work. My show... I'll go to Uttar Nagar, Patel Nagar... when do I have a break? Today is my holiday, and I'll go to Mundka. I'll do a show in Mundka and come back. I left from here to go to Mundka. What do I see after going to Mundka?