We are often thrilled - kids and grown-ups alike - when J.K. Rowling tells a story about a cat reading a newspaper in a street corner, about a dog with eyes all over its body or about a cute little Harry flying fast on a broom rocket.
In real life, though, it's not that common to see a cat reading a newspaper; at worst, a cat may be seen playing with a newspaper if a city slicker chose to pack a dead mouse in it and throw it, yes, in a street corner; a dog normally possesses only two eyes, and a broom can't exactly take off.
Then, there are amazing magical shows in real life: a David Copperfield making the Eiffel Tower disappear, a magician in Rajasthan taking multiple pétanque balls out of his mouth (actually, throwing out!), or even our pro, Ratnapark-based magician unfailingly impressing us by showing that the egg he hits hard against a guinea pig's head does not break and soil his freshly combed hair.
Well, enough of fun stories.
Simple, yet amazing magic is perennially taking place all around us. For instance, Kathmandu's sidewalks are either non-existent or are a complete chaos to walk along; the potholed roads are sometimes filled with sewage water, and public transport in the metropolis is pathetically poor.
Now, how people in general manage to commute - defying a challenge at every street corner yet hardly ever bellyaching - when even the so-called 'fittest' have to struggle to find an easy way out, is just magical.
A street vendor possesses just a nanglo or a winnower - typically made of bamboo, now available in plastic too - and sets up her 'winnow shop' strategically in a street corner.
Some may poke fun at her calling a nangle, yet she manages to pay her children's school dues thanks to that tiny shop, precariously carried sometimes even on her head.
Some may just do 'winnow shopping' as a queer pastime.
But she has no penury of serious clientele in a city of teeming millions. Her winnower is empty by the evening - cigarettes, candies and dry noodles are all gone! It's indeed a magical way of bringing home the bacon.
Ditto for a shoe shiner, a roadside hairstylist, a tea maker and umpteen others who live on such jobs in the streets. It's in the streets that they eke out their living, win it after an arduous struggle - amidst the dust and smoke, noise and chaos yet still all smiles - and support the family financially. In terms of such economic activities, some 'invisible' magic show is actually rather 'visible' when one passes through the magical streets, say, around Indra Chowk.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 20, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
