West Bengal discusses plans for a magic school and museum at Kolkata’s Nandan complex

West Bengal has begun preparations for a proposed magic school and museum under the state’s Information and Culture Department. The project’s special advisory committee held its first formal meeting at Nandan auditorium in Kolkata on Friday, 30 October 2026, with magician P. C. Sorcar Jr. serving as chief adviser.

Proposed school and museum

The meeting discussed the school’s curriculum and training, the museum’s infrastructure and a preliminary implementation outline. State minister Purnima Chakraborty and department secretary Soumitra Mohan attended, along with P. C. Sorcar Jr.

Plans for the proposed museum include preserving accounts of prominent Bengali magicians, rare equipment, old costumes and ancient manuscripts. The school and museum remain at the preparation and planning stage.

Important Facts for Exams

• Illusion and supernatural magic: Entertainment magic uses natural means to create seemingly impossible effects; supernatural magic, by contrast, claims supernatural causes.
• Parlour audience scale: Parlour magic serves larger audiences than close-up magic but smaller audiences than stage magic, placing it between intimate and large-scale performance.
• Manuscript formats: Manuscripts may take the form of bound codices, scrolls or loose pages, representing distinct physical formats for a collection to document.