THE MAGICIAN AND THE BULLY

This is a tale with a twist, of a MAGICIAN and a BULLY.

It happened once upon
a time. In my student days. Here we go . . . .

We find ourselves in a university hostel, a famous one. The hostel has many rich traditions. One of them is the practice of a "social" being held before winter vacations every year.This SOCIAL  is primarily an entertainment
event put up by the hostel boys themselves before a select audience comprising of elite of the city and held in the hostel's very spacious
"common hall" which has a raised stage at one end, the type seen in the old theatres.

This year they have
further spiced up the 'social' with a magic show by a reputed magician And he is now performing on the stage.

He produces a glass tumbler out of thin air and invites the audience to
peep into it and see a colour-photo of any celebrity he/she adores.

There are good looking female too in the audience. One of them is the first one to go up the stage. A few others
follow and come back
wide eyed . . . Many more mindblowing items follow.

And then comes the star item - the TOUR DE
FORCE. But let us first meet the 'BULLY'.

This boy is one of the 'seniors' of the hostel, and a sort of difficult-to-get-
along-with type, of a very interfering nature. And today he is feeling slighted because he could not get a seat in the front rows. He is standing at the back of the auditorium and 'targeting' the Magician in order to draw attention to
himself. The Magician has made a mental note of this impudence.

And now back to the TOUR DE FORCE. The Magician produces a
snowwhite silk hand kerchief out of thin air.

"Any perfume ! Any ! you
name it and enjoy it in this kerchief." he announces.

People go up and
came down - wide eyed and all smiles !

This 'BULLY' now again raises his hand. He is in the habit of questioning an act.The magician has been patiently clearing all the objections raised by this bully.

This time when the bully raises his hand the magician does not answer from the stage but comes down and walks all the
way to the back of the auditorium where this
boy is standing. All heads turn to the boy.

" Sir, I will feel honoured if you come with me to the stage," he is all humility and deference as he says
this." give this item a try sir !"

The boy seems elated and mollified. He is now surely getting attention. Girls also are looking back at him. That's ego- boosting for any hostel boy !

On the stage the Magician asks him his choice of perfume. The boy wants
EVENING IN PARIS.

The magician looks crestfallen. "Sir this is difficult. Can I have another choice?" he begs three times.

The boy resolutely refuses to relent.

"Very well then, let me try" declares the Magician with a flourish, " But you
will have to shut your eyes firmly as this is going to be a very very difficult
task to perform". The boy readily agrees.

Now the Magician puts away the white kerchief. With the boy facing
the audience with his eyes firmly shut and he himself standing right behind
the boy, the Magician picks up one of his lousy weatherbeaten shoes and
brings it right up to the boy's nose and says, " Sir, inhale deeply, smell
and enjoy ".

The boy inhales as deeply as he could and becomes rapturous with joy.

"Aah Yes ! This is the perfume I love. Great !" he exclaims and as the
audience roars and roars with all shades of laughter, he opens his eyes to find himself in a very embarrassing
situation of a dirty shoe plastered on his nose !

The boy sheepishly gets down from the stage, staggers all the way back.
Peogle are still laughing as he disappears through the door at the back unnoticed. The show continues for quite some time after this event...
but this boy is nowhere to be seen.

We do not see him for a full one month. And then he is back in the hostel one fine morning.

He is  a very sober person now, thoroughly chastised - after his COUP DE GRACE !!