Bollywood stars shine at Zee37 Cine Awards MONDAY, MARCH 13, 2017 The Chicago River is dyed a bright green color kicking off St Patrick’s Day weekend festivities on Saturday in Chicago. Thousands of people were expected to attend the South Side Irish Parade yesterday. — AP Indian magician fights archaic law Star abroad, pest at home Joni Sledge of ‘We Are Family’ or a brief moment Ishamuddin Khan home tucked away down an alley reeking of had the world at his feet: A pioneer of sewage. “If you don’t have enough money or group dies at 60 Fthe “Great Indian Rope Trick” - an illu- a godfather with you, or (sponsorship) from sion of such legend it was long believed to the government or a businessman that is a be impossible - he thought fame and for- big problem. And that makes me cry, some- tune were assured. But some 22 years after times I feel very bad.” he first dazzled crowds with his ability to conjure a length of coiled rope out of a bas- Pursuing the impossible ket and up 20 feet into the air for an assis- Back in 1995, Khan became the first to tant to climb, he is still battling for recogni- perform the rope trick for the public in an tion - for himself, and his art. outside space - considered a huge feat in Angered by India’s lack of support for his the world of magic as it gives little option industry he is taking on archaic laws that for props, lighting trickery or hidden aids. criminalize street performers. “I love to per- The trick was first mentioned by European form on the streets, but under the law I am writers during the British Raj era, Khan not a busker but a beggar,” Khan explained. said. It was regarded so difficult that in the “I can’t fight the law on my own, but I am 1930s the Magic Circle offered a reward to determined not to give up,” he said, adding anyone who could do it. Decades later, a that he had enlisted the help of a legal cen- version of the story reached Khan. Already ter to challenge the antiquated regulations, well versed in the skills of the trade from a foreboding task in India’s creaking courts childhood, where he’d learned tricks from and maze-like bureaucracy. as the “magician’s ghetto”. But such trades Because of this, there is little opportunity family and friends, he was motivated to Khan’s father had a monkey show, while are not valued anymore, he said, pointing to for India’s tribal performers to be celebrated, take on the impossible. his mother was a ragpicker. He grew up in the decades-old Bombay Beggary Act, despite the country’s rich history of mysti- “I heard once that if somebody suc- Kathputli Colony, an enclave of conjurers, which treats India’s millions of street buskers cism and artistic tradition. “In India, if you’re ceeds in doing the trick, he would get Joni Sledge snake charmers and puppeteers in New as a public nuisance and forces them into a talented it doesn’t make any difference,” (money) from the British Magic Circle. So I Delhi’s slums famously referenced in the state of perpetual illegality, where they must Khan told AFP, glancing wistfully at his rope spent six years to find the secret of the oni Sledge, one of four sisters who together sang one Salman Rushdie novel Midnight’s Children stay a step ahead of the law. basket and other magic props in his shanty trick,” he said. He delivered the perform- of disco’s most enduring songs with “We Are Family,” ance, complete with a child seemingly has died, a representative said Saturday. She was 60. climbing the levitating rope, at the his- J The singer died at her home in Arizona on Friday with the toric Qutub Minar monument in New cause of death yet to be determined, publicist Biff Warren Delhi to an enraptured audience of hun- said. “We miss her and hurt for her presence, her radiance dreds. “Overnight I won international and the sincerity with which she loved and embraced life,” fame, I was world famous,” he recalled, a family statement said. reminiscing how the crowd broke into Daughters of two performers, Joni and her three sisters thunderous applause at the sprawling - Debbie, Kathy and Kim - grew up in Philadelphia and Mughal-era ruins. News of his achieve- enjoyed moderate success touring in the 1970s with R&B ment spread - he was invited to perform songs. But the sisters found a major hit in 1979 with “We abroad, sponsors took an interest, and Are Family,” which was written by Nile Rodgers and even now foreign tourists seek him out Bernard Edwards, who had emerged as key figures in the when visiting New Delhi. And yet at home disco craze with their band Chic. Joni Sledge, in an inter- there has been little interest in his reper- view last year with The Guardian, said the sisters had toire, which also includes transforming become professionally frustrated by the time they made mango seeds into a shrub by sleight of “We Are Family” and had considered other careers, such as hand and regurgitating iron balls. studying law. “Recording the track ‘We Are Family’ was like Performers such as Khan often have to a one-take party - we were just dancing and playing eke out a living on the streets and risk around and hanging out in the studio when we did it,” she daily harassment from police who said. Rodgers offered condolences on Twitter, saying, “We demand bribes or threaten charges did something pretty amazing together.” Despite the mes- because they are in breach of the law. sage of family unity, Kathy Sledge left the group to pursue Calls for the government to amend the a solo career and tensions ensued, with Joni and Debbie dated legislation have fallen on deaf ears. remaining the core members. And the slum that he and some 2,000 oth- Sister Sledge came together in various forms for per- er families of street performers call home formances that included the massive Festival of Families is being razed, ending decades of tradi- by Pope Francis in Philadelphia in 2015 and last year’s tion. But Khan, who speaks fluent Hindi presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton. Joni Sledge, and English as well as a little French and speaking in 2015 to Women’s Wear Daily, said that the Japanese, is hopeful he can bring about group’s main hit - with its chorus, “We are family / I got all change. “I love to perform on the streets, my sisters with me” - carried a time-tested message of and I should be allowed some public unity. “It’s just as powerful today. That’s one of the good space so that I can entertain passersby. Is things about it. It teaches respect,” she said. — AFP These photos taken on Jan 5, 2017 show Indian street magician Ishamuddin Khan performing in New Delhi. — AFP it too much to ask?” — AFP .