About the Book: Jadoowallahs, Jugglers and Jinns: A Magical History of India
"An amazing, brilliant, and incredibly erudite book Lee Siegel
Indias association with magic goes back thousands of years from the seals of
Mohenjodaro that depicted sorcerers and yogis, to the jugglers, mountebanks and
acrobats that dazzled audiences at the courts of Hindu maharajas and Mughal
emperors. Tales were told of ropes being thrown up in the air, strong enough for
a boy to climb and disappear; of fakirs being buried alive for months and
brought back to life; and of sanperas charming deadly cobras with their flutes.
In the early nineteenth century, touring Indian magicians