RADHICA DE SILVA
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Deoraj Seunarine, T&T's beloved ventriloquist and magician extraordinaire, fondly known as Dr Abracadabra, has passed at the age of 93.
Seunarine enthralled audiences across the country with his masterful tricks. He had a particular fondness for children and was known to have turned Patrick Manning's $20 into a $100. He also made Holly Betaudier lay an egg and entertained many prominent citizens including Sir Elis Clarke, Bhadase Sagan Maharaj, Basdeo Panday, Sir Arthur McShine, Sundar Popo and Patrick Chookoolingo among many others.
He was born in Debe in 1929 and was an exceptional dholak and Sarangi player. As a child, he was devoted to learning Hindi and enjoyed learning bhajans and patriotic songs from his parents Seunarine and Ramdaie. He later became a teacher and then a principal. Awestruck by a magician named Cleopatra, Seunarine began learning magic tricks which he used to draw enthusiasm from his young students. He adopted the name Dr Abracadabra.
Apart from his magical acclaim, Seunarine was known as one of the few people, fluent in Trinidad Bhojpuri, Hindi and Urdu, some of the languages brought to Trinidad by East Indian indentured immigrants. He also was conversational in Bengali and Chinese.
Passionate about his heritage, Sieurnarine was determined to preserve the Bhojpuri language and had been working with Dr Visham Bhimull and his Caribbean Hindustani group archiving the dialect of Caribbean Hindustani.
He rose to fame in the 1970s, '80s and '90s performing across the country. He would go from school to school performing his acts, sometimes for free, to ease the monotony of school life.
Whenever he heard of a child in need, Seunarine would quietly come to their assistance, giving from his pockets with no fanfare and no publicity.
Jokingly, he vowed never to share his class acts which were continued by his family after he officially resigned. He loved reading the Guardian newspaper and kept in touch with this reporter over the years.
Known for his wide smile and free tricks, Sieunarine was engaged in many charity shows and never hesitated to lend a helping hand to children in need.
He would come to the Guardian's South Bureau on Chancery Lane and amuse staff with his tricks.
In 2003 he received a National Award- the Medal of Merit Silver for Outstanding and Meritorious Service. In 2010, he was among 13 people awarded by the San Fernando City Corporation for their contribution to the upliftment of the city. In 2020, a biography of his life, written by Doolarchan Hanomansingh, was launched at the NCIC Nagar Heritage Library.
In 2019 he published a book titled Abracadabra- Stage Entertainer and Magician Extraordinaire.
In an interview last night Dr Bhimul said: "My deepest condolences to his family and friends. This is the loss of a great individual, performer and educator and mentor."
He added, "It was quite a surprise. We knew each other for a long time. He contributed to a lot of my research on Bhojpuri expressions and was always a call away when I was trying to figure out certain things. I am deeply saddened. He was always actively encouraging me to publish a book in Trinidad Bhojpuri grammar."
Former manager of the Guardian Hazel Ross-Perot said: "We are losing a generation of entertainers. He was a great magician and great with children."
President of the ASJA Girls Alumni Association Nadeira Khan said T&T had lost a beautiful soul.
"I am a child of the ’70s. One of the most memorable childhood characters for me was Dr Abracadabra. I was always mesmerized by his gift and talent. Whether at schools, public forums or birthday parties, he was always such a joy to be around, a beacon of creativity, life, laughter and the concept of illusion was always astounding," she recalled.