Article archive / December 1, 2013
Originally published: . Volume 5, No. 4. Source pages: 12.
World of India’s Godmen, and The Caliph’s House: A Year in Casablanca by Tahir Shah
I have two fascinating, non-fiction, fun books by the author Tahir Shah. He is descended from Afghani royalty, lived in London and his dad, Idries Shah is a premier writer of books on Sufism. Both books provide a glimpse of another universe of experience, one in India, one in Morocco
Sorcerer’s Apprentice: An Incredible Journey to the World of India’s Godmen is about his desire to learn illusion, which started when the guardian of his royal relative ‘s tomb came to London, uninvited, camped at his bedroom door and began teaching him magic.. When, as an adult, he wanted further training he went to his childhood trainer’s teacher in India. He lived and learned with a premier godman under very strange circumstances. Then he toured India looking for illusionists, of which there are many. On the way he picks up an unbidden sidekick he calls the trickster. To me the whole story is magical itself and I was left with the feeling that there is more in this world than we know.
In The Caliph’s House: A Year in Casablanca, Shah is sick of London and buys a rotting mansion in Morocco in the middle of a slum. He inherits 3 superstitious retainers with the house and discovers the house is already occupied by a Djinn who does not want him there. If you have ever coped with restoring or redecorating you will find your experience a piece of cake compared to doing things the Moroccan way.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.