All fire no smoke

THIS CUTE little kid stood there in astonishment. It's so scary I can't believe it, she might have screamed. Her wide eyes with each passing second definitely revealed what was crossing her mind.

As the man came out of a burning grass house, running through the high flames that threatened to gobble him, all she could do was cry and the tears rolling down her little chubby cheeks reflected a mix of her inability to control emotions and the terrifying act itself.

Several people who watched that dare devil stunt perhaps went through similar emotions and feelings. Indeed, it was a fearless act that looked like a scene straight out of a Bollywood blockbuster. But for a change, it was all real.

Young magician Raghu performed a daring feat at the Gymkhana Grounds on Saturday in front of a motley crowd that stood there bewildered. The `Fire escape' event, organised as part of the ongoing `Maaya 2001' sent shivers down the spine.

A steel chain ran across his lean body restricting his movement. His legs, hands and the neck were cuffed firmly and locked. And the body was lowered into a closed grass house (rather a room that didn't even had space to move the elbows comfortably) using a crane. Cans of kerosene and petrol was sprinkled onto the highly inflammable dried grass and then set ablaze. And all he took to open the locks (without using the keys) and get out from that baking heat was 30 seconds. Imagine the blistering heat that he might have encountered as just after a minute it was set afire, the room turned into ashes.

Earlier, `Sadhanasurulu', magicians from the rural areas of Telangana, let out some amazing tricks. Seen more on the streets of Telangana villages, their hoodwinking acts were indeed amazing.

By R. Ravikanth Reddy

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Section  : Southern States
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