Kantilal Girdharilal Vora (10 April 1924 – 23 September 2012), popularly known as K. Lal, was an Indian magician.

Biography

K. Lal was born on 10 April 1924 in Bagasara (now in

Amreli district Amreli district is one of the 33 administrative districts of the state of Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, India) in a jain family of Girdharlal Vora and Muliben. His uncle Lalchandbhai had a

Khadi Khadi (, ), derived from khaddar, is a hand-spun and woven natural fibre cloth promoted by Mahatma Gandhi, Gandhi as Swadeshi movement, ''swadeshi (of homeland)'' for the freedom struggle of India and the term is used throughout the Indian sub ...

clothes shop in Calcutta who had entrusted it to his father when he joined

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

. The shop was burned down in riots so K. Lal had to work as a hawker. He rebuilt their clothes shop later and worked there K. Chhotalal Co. He started his career as a magician in 1950 from Calcutta. His first show was held at Roxy Cinema in Calcutta. He was popular for his innovative tricks. He had evolved his tricks with technology. He used to spread social messages and moral lessons through his tricks. In a career spanning 62 years, he staged over 22,479 shows around the world, performing his last show in July 2012 in H K College Hall in Ahmedabad. He returned to Gujarat in 1990. He died on 23 September 2012 at his home in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

after prolonged illness at the age of 88. K. Lal married Pushpa Vora and had a son Harshad (also known as K. Lal Junior) and two daughters Priti and Sonal. They were married and settled in Chennai and Kolkata.

Appearances in media

K Lal Senior and Junior appear prominently in a book entitled ''Net of Magic'' by Lee Siegel, a writer and professor of religion at the

University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. The work, which combines fiction and nonfiction, contains, among other elements, Siegel's lengthy account of meetings with and descriptions of the two magicians.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:K Lal Indian magicians 1924 births 2012 deaths People from Ahmedabad People from Amreli district 20th-century Indian Jains