An Interview with Krishan the Magician
What’s the first magical thing you remember seeing? And who is the first magician you ever saw?
In 1976, my wife and I went to our first magic show in Jaipur, India. We still talk about the show as it was during our honeymoon. I remember the magician wearing a long coat and turban, swallowing swords and putting that sword in a bucket.
Who got you into magic? Who has been a key mentor, or two, or three, for you in your magic career? And how can someone get into magic today—or get their kid into magic?
I have been interested in magic since I was very young because my father gave me a book called “Math & Magic”, not because I was interested in magic, but because I was not good at math. Little did he know what an impact that would make.
I have been doing playing card and mathematical magic since I was eight. As a practicing physician, I did magic for my patients during chemotherapy infusion in my clinic. But in 2013, I attended the McBride School of Magic and Mystery in Las Vegas. This was my first experience learning Magic professionally. I did, however, once attend a Continued Medical Education Class which was related to Magic in Medicine. My mentors in Magic are Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger, and Larry Hass. I have been lucky to learn from many magicians outside of the school such as Eric Henning, David Morey, Scott Alexander; just to name a few.
It was a hot and muggy night in Warsaw, unusual for this time of the year. Sitting at the bar was a man nursing a beer. No one noticed his unkempt appearance or the bulge in his jacket pocket. As the bartender rang up another transaction, a young man wearing a ball cap swung open the door. A quick sideways glance was given to the stranger who strode over to take a seat at the bar. The young man ordered a beer then turned and quietly said, “Erdnase.” After a few uneasy moments that seemed like an eternity, the man reached into his pocket. He pulled out a deck of cards and suddenly…it was magic time. That could have gone in a completely different direction and oftentimes it does in the world of spy craft. This week we chat with the former Acting Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.), John McLaughlin. There is an overlap and kinship in the keeping of secrets both as spies and as magicians, though one doesn’t control the balance of life and death in their hands. John is an American Intelligence Officer who served as Deputy Director of the C.I.A. under President Bill Clinton and then briefly as the Acting Director of the C.I.A. under President G.W. Bush then retired in 2004. McLaughlin currently serves as a Senior Fellow and Distinguished Practitioner-in-Residence at the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies at the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize