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The joke’s on you!
In between the somber office blocks, gleaming malls and sober real estate dealers that dot Clifton’s commercial district, there lies something that sticks out like a proverbial sore thumb. Curiosity nudges one to step up and take a look inside this bizarre little shop of novelties nestled in between the towers of sobriety. A relatively new phenomenon in the port city, it is a practical jokes and magic shop. We took some time off on a nippy winter afternoon to examine what the shop had in store for kids of all ages.
Inside, the walls are decorated with an eclectic mix of silliness and phantasmagoria. Masks of all designs and definitions coupled with goofy toys, costumes and gadgets to ensure maximum zaniness are all spread across a dizzying array seemingly out of the twilight zone. It seems a troublemaker’s paradise! The ambiance is enough to make even those of us with a serious disposition want to break out of our staid shells and open a can of silly string to decorate passers-by with. But as long as this wacky behaviour stays within the bounds of good, clean fun, it’s all good!
We talked to Arshad Saleem. The proprietor of the establishment to get the bare essentials about the business of laughter and practical jokes.
“We deal in items that have to do with magic tricks and jokes. I’ve been in business for the last 18 years. I started out from my original store on Tariq Road around 1985 and moved into this location rather recently. Of course, children form the bulk of our clientele, but professionals such as magicians also buy from us. Then we get orders for weddings. We specialize in providing items for mehndis such as sprays and tricks. Fifteen, 16 years ago, something like snow spray was unheard of here. Now, it seems that no mehndi is complete without snow spray! Our peak season is summer holidays as well as wedding season. Halloween also brings brisk sales for us. We provide all sorts of costumes and scary accessories for that occasion.”
“Some of our best selling merchandise includes magic ink, the whoopee cushion and various magic items. My inspiration for wanting to come into this business was my passion for these kinds of tricks and games. Eventually, my passion, or hobby, turned into my profession,” reveals Saleem.
In addition to all the clever parlour tricks the store has on offer, the shop also deals in how-to instructional magic videos, so Harry Potters and David Copperfields in waiting can hone their skills without harming any real-life rabbits or destroying too many golf balls while attempting to entertain friends with tricks.
“We have already started manufacturing and exporting magic items to the UK and elsewhere. Our clients range from six-year-olds to sixty-year-olds. We have a collection of items from around the world. The majority of the goods comes from China,” reiterates Saleem.
From full size monkey suits to cans of soda-pop that give off a mild electric shock when lifted to replicas of human excreta, the shop has enough to ensure a boatload of guffaws. In this age of chasing pleasure, fun and frolic, these kinds of stores are bound to sprout up over the city providing the tools of the trade. Prices of the items range from a little over Rs200 for a dancing clown to Rs2,500 for a replica mask used by professionals.
Armed with a sizable wad of cash in your pocket, you could well stock up for a whale of a time with the many goodies these kinds of shops have to offer, from the exploding jack-in-the-box to the absolutely vile stink bombs. But beware in your quest for merriment, lest you find that the joke might well be on you!
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