Zenia’s mighty magic

Outshining the competition at the annual magic competition of the Society of Indian Magicians (SIM) in the conjuring open category was 11-year-old Zenia Bhumgara who pipped her father and trainer Mhelly to the post. "This was the first time in my life that I was glad to come second,” the proud parent informed Parsiana over the telephone. Zenia was the only child competitor in a field of adult professional magicians, a record for the 75-year-old SIM when a child competed and won against adults, Mhelly stated in an e-mail sent earlier to Parsi­ana.

Zenia Bhumgara receiving prize from magician Milind Kumar

At the competition, held at the Matunga Cultural Society Hall in Bombay on August 23, 2008, Zenia thrilled the gathering with her original act of conjuring out doves with instant changes of costume. Audiences all over India have been charmed with her exceptional magical talent, her father writes. Zenia was among the three finalists in the prestigious POGO television channel’s Amazing Kids Awards 2007, in the entertainer category. She has won many national accolades as well as the ZoChild Award last year. Next year she hopes to garner recognition at the "Olympics of Magic” held by the Federation of International Society of Magicians in Beijing. This is the first time the competition is being held in Asia, its customary venue being in Europe.

Zenia, who has been performing since the age of four, is happy following in the footsteps of older sister Pearl who was the only Indian to win the first prize in the junior contest held by The Society of American magicians in the USA in June 2000, the e-mail concludes.