Magically Yours

No matter how much we've grown up with Harry Potter, or The Lord of The Rings, there is a part of us that will always remember, unfortunately, that magic is not real. But there are people across the globe who can, even for a moment, make your heart wonder about the possibilities of magic and miracles. One such individual making magic seem as real as the next thing is Syed Wasiul Islam Galib. 

Growing up in Bangladesh, Galib attended SFX Greenherald International School until completion of his O' Levels, took his A' Levels in private, and then moved to Canada to study business in York University. "Since I was a child, I would always consider myself a performer. I liked playing a lot of pranks and tricks!" says Galib. When he was in grade 10, he started researching about magic and illusions, and within a year he started practicing; eventually becoming a professional. "My first performance was for my friends. One of them, Salman Chowdhury, even went on to inspire me to come this far."

Specialising in Psychological Illusions and Bizarre Arts, Galib has no problems stuffing a bunch of blades into his mouth! "Psychological illusions have a lot to do with mind manipulating. Card tricks, tricks involving a lot of numbers and such can be considered psychological illusions. Bizarre arts on the other hand are literally doing bizarre things without a scratch. I soon hope to do this new trick where I'm locked in a box for a week in front of an audience as a test of endurance," he says. 

Galib's first professional performance was on live television when he had a 25 minute skit on NTV's Janar Ache, Bolar Ache. He even wrote a script for a TV show named Magic Man, which was later aired as Chocobean Jadur Deshe on RTV. He has gone on to perform in front of live audiences both in Bangladesh and Canada. "In Canada, the public's reaction was a known reaction, even though it was very positive. They have come across magicians and illusionists before; I was just a new medium to them. But in Bangladesh, it was better because it was new to the people. They don't come across such an art form too often," he says. His main inspirations would be David Blaine, Houdini and Robert Houdain. And amongst fellow magicians Fahd Kabir, Max Mystel and Topu motivate him very much.

In the immediate future, Galib plans on finishing the year and half he has left in York University and enrolling into film school afterwards. "The reason I want to study filmmaking is that it has recently caught my attention. I plan on making videos and films of my performances. I'm actually in the middle of making an independent documentary called 'Into Your Mind', which will hopefully be up on Youtube next month," he says. 

A performance art such as this is very new in our country still, but Galib believes that it has every potential to win over the hearts of the people.  "They just need to be a little more accepting of it. They need to acknowledge it as a performance art and make room for it," he says. For aspiring magicians, Galib stresses on practicing. "Magic isn't something you get easily recognised for. So keep practicing, expand your platform and audience, reach out to anyone and everyone, and keep your grasp on it until you make it. If you believe in it enough, you will make it!"

Subscribe to 'Magic Man Galib' on Youtube to get some glimpses of Galib's magic!