Ishamuddin Khan, a 55-year-old magician from Delhi, reflects on the declining popularity of street magic in India. Once a prominent performer known for his rope trick that gained international attention, he now rarely performs due to changes in audience entertainment habits and restricted access to public performance spaces. Historically part of the Madari community, which has been practicing street performances for centuries, Khan notes that while there are about 400 families in Delhi alone, many have had to abandon their craft and find other means of income, such as rag-picking, due to diminishing opportunities.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-03,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
- Published
Sitting in his cramped Delhi home, Ishamuddin Khan can still make a rope appear to rise into the air.
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rope → publish → air
The 55-year-old magician spent decades performing a trick once dismissed as legend, and still keeps photographs and newspaper clippings from his years of international fame.
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magician → spend → fame
These days, he spends more time looking back at those memories than performing the trick.
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he → spend → trick
"The times have changed," he says.
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he → change → ?
"Street magic is dying a slow death.
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magic → die → death
Khan's story reflects a wider change in India, where traditional street performers are finding it increasingly difficult to make a living from their craft.
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it → reflect → craft
Magicians, jugglers, puppeteers and acrobats once made a living from crowds in public spaces.
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Magicians → make → spaces
Changing entertainment habits and tighter restrictions have made audiences harder to find, pushing many out of the profession.
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audiences → change → profession
Khan, one of India's best-known magicians, comes from the Madari community, which has a long tradition of performing in public spaces.
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which → know → spaces
There are no official figures, but Khan says community records identify about 400 Madari families in Delhi, with hundreds more in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana.
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records → be → Pradesh
Despite their small numbers today, the Madaris trace their roots back centuries.
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Madaris → trace → roots
Historian Ashok Mathur says Madari traditions have roots in Indian folklore, mythology and the long history of travelling performers.
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traditions → say → performers
"For generations, these skills were passed through families," he explains.
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he → pass → families
Khan followed the same path, learning magic from his father and uncles and performing from the age of 12.
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Khan → follow → 12
By his early 20s, he had mastered the rope trick that would later make him famous.
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him → master → trick
The trick – in which a rope appears to rise into the air before a boy climbs it – was long associated with the mythology of Indian street magic and widely considered impossible, until Khan performed it.
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Khan → appear → it
He says it took six years to master the trick, which he first performed publicly in 1995 outside Delhi's iconic Qutub Minar.
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he → say → Minar
Two years later, he performed it before 30,000 people on a beach in Karnataka.
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he → perform → Karnataka
His trick brought international attention, and that led to tours to the UK, France, Germany and Japan.
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that → bring → UK
Khan hoped the fame would shine a light on India's traditional performers.
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fame → hop → performers
For a while, it did.
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it → do → while
But the attention faded.
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attention → fade → ?
As audiences turned to new forms of entertainment and public performance opportunities dwindled, many magicians found it harder to make a living from skills passed down through generations.
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it → turn → generations
Once a magician, Imam now makes a living collecting bottles and recyclables from Delhi's streets.
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Imam → make → streets
He spends much of his time rag-picking near a western Delhi dump, earning about 200 rupees ($2; £1.57) a day.
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He → spend → rupees
Experts say the decline in street performance has multiple causes, chief among them the changing nature of public spaces.
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chief → say → spaces
Anurupa Roy, founder of Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust, says performers increasingly struggle to find audiences as public spaces shrink.
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spaces → say → audiences
"Closed parks and residential societies that bar outsiders are limiting spaces for performance."
Researcher and performer Komita Dhanda says changing attitudes to public spaces are also driving the decline.
"
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attitudes → close → decline
With tighter security, especially in busy town and city centres, there is little space left for street performers," she says.
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she → be → performers
It is not just individual artists who struggle to get permission.
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who → struggle → permission
Dhanda says her well-known street theatre group, Jana Natya Manch, often faces hurdles performing in public spaces.
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group → say → spaces
For many artists, the challenge is not just finding a venue but navigating unclear rules over what is allowed.
uncertain
what → find → rules
Most street performers rely on voluntary payments, but experts say the line between performing for money and begging can blur.
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line → rely → money
Unlike the UK, India has no federal busking framework.
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India → have → framework
Performers instead navigate state-level rules on public order, obstruction, noise and public land.
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Performers → navigate → order
"This is why street performers often have to face municipal and police regulations governing public spaces, as well as state-specific anti-begging laws," says lawyer Kaushik Mitra.
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Mitra → have → spaces
For many artists, Covid made a bad situation worse.
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situation → make → artists
When India imposed its 2020 lockdown, public performances stopped.
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performances → impose → lockdown
Many magicians returned to their villages; some never came back.
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some → return → villages
"We saw a decline in public performances after this period," Dhanda says.
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Dhanda → see → period
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
