Do You Believe in Magic: Local magician brings it up-close on the North Coast

by Daniel Beaulieu

The Times-Standard, September 12, 2002

“Wow, that’s a great stage name . . . you’re already set to do the magic,” said the man at a magic shop, the future mentor of a young Shantaram Jones. These days, Shantaram the Magician has quite a bag of tricks to back it all up. Undoubtedly at some point in life we all have been entranced by something falling under this time-honored and mysterious category. Highly publicized and elaborately produced television magic extravagazas have become the medium of exchange between magician and audience. That being said, it is always more exciting to get a chance to be dazzled in the first person. The North Coast is fortunate to have one capable of such things living among us. Local resident Shantaram the Magician (a.k.a. Shantaram Jones) knows that whether it be the flash of the disappearing coin, or those particular cards you would swear were just there, magic will always get a smile. And, as a recent performance at Westwood Video’s “Back to School Celebration” demonstrated, it always draws a crowd.

In a perched black top hat and sparkling vest, Shantaram exudes the elements of traditional magic. Preferring the energy of smaller crowds to that of the big stage, there were only a few feet of separation between magician and onlooker. Not much room for slip- ups in that close space. As parents and children alike clustered tightly to get a better look. Shantaram held the audience captive with his brand of “close-up-magic.” Springing a 4-foot cane out of a small bag (ala Mary Poppins) for an opener immediately hooked the crowd. Drawing the audience further into the performance with active participation, he continually confounded and amazed the crowd with some truly incredible card tricks. Including stack jumping “Jacks and Aces,” Shantaram proved his mastery and the potential for endless trick variations.

Jones has made the study of the magical arts his passion for over half his life.

“These past twelve years I have acquired a vast knowledge and expertise on the art of magic,” he said.

Shantaram was born in Calcutta, India. His unique name, which means ”peaceful lord” in Hindi, was bestowed upon the magician by his adoptive parents, who brought the 6-week-old baby to begin life in Humboldt. Shantaram’s journey into the art of performing magic began at Jacoby Creek Elementary, where he attended school.

“I got interested (at first) by people showing me simple card tricks in elementary school.” He remembers. “And then there was a day I saw a magic show on TV which really inspired me.”

Diving into some books the school librarian showed him, he began some of his first formal instruction in magic

“I took one out and read through it,” Shantaram recalls. “Then I went to the library everyday through that year and read those books.”

By the time most kids his age had lost the last pieces to their Blackstone magic kit, Shantaram Jones was well on his way to becoming an accomplished magician.

After showing interest for a couple of years solid, Shantaram’s father kept a promise to take him to a real magic shop. On a trip to Sacramento it finally happened. Walking through the doors to the dusty and “mysterious” shop entitled Grand Illusions, he met the resident magician Steve Johnson.

The young Shantaram walked out of the dusty shop with three essential things to begin his transformation into a worker of magic: He’d seen his first professionally performed trick (which he still incorporates today), received his first piece of advice, and most importantly, met his first (and greatest mentor.)

“Magic is all in the presentation and the way you present it.” Said Johnson during their first meeting many years ago. Shantaram finds himself applying this knowledge to life as well as magic. By keeping this close to home he always strives for a performance that is lively and entertaining. He does not care for any comparison to David Blaine, the dry and mysterious magician who is often seen on television. Although they share some tricks, such as the amazing “Invisible Deck,” Shantaram has a different style.

“There’s a traditional sense to magic where you want to be open to the person and you want to have a presentation. I make it a lot nicer and friendlier,” he said.

Shantaram Jones is currently taking a semester deferment from his study of Speech Communications at HSU to further focus on the magical career of alter-ego Shantaram the Magician.

“What I mostly do are private shows.” He said. “I’d love to do (more) public shows. However, those are hard to do because most of it is (performed on) stage, and the close-up stuff is more personable.”