# Jewel Aich

Jewel Aich (born April 10, 1950) is a Bangladeshi magician and bansuri player. He is a veteran of the Bangladesh Liberation War.

## Personal life

Aich was born in Shomdekathi, East Bengal (present day Barisal District, Bangladesh). He was the fifth of nine children born to Indian businessman Bijoy Kumar (B.K.) Aich and homemaker Saraju Aich. He was fascinated by magic and choreography from a young age, and his interest grew when a Romani man performed a magic and dance routine during a visit to Aich's family home. On 23 July 1985, Aich married Pasha Khoshnu, daughter of Professor Darbesh Ali Khan and a teacher in the political science department at Dhaka University. After their wedding, Pasha Khoshnu became known as Bipasha Aich, and the couple had one daughter named Kheya Aich. His wife Bipasha and his daughter Kheya have appeared onstage during Aich's performances.

### Participation in Liberation War

In 1971, after finishing his studies, he and his family participated in the Bangladeshi Liberation War. While he was in Bahadurpur (Nadiya) West Bengal, India, at a freedom fighters' camp, he started teaching students in refugee camps. He also performed magic to entertain and inspire the children of the camp. After becoming ill, he taught in refugee camps.

### Origin of name

After the Liberation War, Aich started to write regularly in Kishore Bangla, a newspaper for youngsters. Aich received letters from fans around the country. One young fan from Rajshahi would send mails addressing him as "Jewel Aich" instead of "G.L. Aich." Finding the name simpler than his own, he received permission from his family before changing his name to Jewel Aich.

## Education

In 1956, Jewel Aich was admitted to Samade Kati Primary School. Later in 1962, he was admitted to Pirojpur Government High School in class VI. He completed his Secondary School Certificate examination (SSC) in 1967, then his Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) from Pirojpur College in 1969. Afterwards, he enrolled at Jagannath University in Dhaka. Due to the Pakistani invasion, he was unable to sit for his B.A. final examination in 1971, and instead joined the liberation war from his home village. After the independence of Bangladesh, he received his bachelor's degree from Jagannath University in 1972. He also studied classical music in Dhaka and went to the United States to study filmmaking.
After Bangladesh's independence, he joined his own village's "Samade Kati High School" as a teacher and then became the principal of the school, teaching there from 1972 to 1977.

## Professional career

Aich was fascinated by magic from a young age. When he saw a Romani man performing magic during a visit to Aich's village, he was immediately drawn to it. Later, he encountered a circus performing in a nearby village and saw a magician perform a trick where it appeared that he had cut off his assistant's neck. He was so impressed by the trick that he designed a special knife, which he later demonstrated to his friends by "cutting off" a friend's leg. Aich learned some of his tricks from fellow magician Abdur Rashid of the Lion Circus in Pirojpur. By the time he enrolled in college, he had already become known in his district as an amateur magician.
As a performer, he was motivated by Charlie Chaplin and began to convey the message of global brotherhood through magic. In 1981, he was invited to America by the Society of American Magicians to perform a show. On March 26, 1986, Jewel Aich performed Magic on the Eve of the Independence Day celebration at the National Stadium.

### TV appearance

In 1977, a Bangladeshi TV host, Abdullah Abu Syed, invited Aich to perform magic on his show. This was Aich's first televised show. He would appear in more television shows afterwards, such as Ananda Mela and Ityadi. Later, he did several of his own TV specials at Bangladesh Television (BTV) and one of those became the Program of the Year named 'Anandamela, Magic World of Jewel Aich'.

## Music

Aich is also a flautist, having learned from Ustad Abdur Rahman, Profullo Masid and his son Montu Masid. From 1973, he began playing flute on Dhaka Radio (Bangladesh), Kolkata Radio (India), Radio Beijing (China), Deutsche Welle (Germany), BBC (UK), and VOA (USA).

## Awards

* Ekushey Padak (1993)
* Quazi Mahabubullah Gold Medal Award (1989)
* The International Conference trophy of Society of American Magicians Boston Massachusetts 4 July 1981, US
* Best Illusionist Award, 'Channel I' Performance Award Dubai, UAE (2003)
* Magic Federation's Reception held for Jewel Aich (28 December 2017)
* Plaque In Appreciation to Jewel Aich Presented by Mayor Annette Strauss Dallas, US (1988)
* Dhaka Club Ltd. Award for being honored with Ekushey Padak 21 February 2009
* Independence Day Trophy to the Great Magician Jewel Aich, 18 March 2019
* Golden Jubilee Celebration Trophy 1964 – 2014 of Bangladesh television
* Honor to the Great Jewel Aich 1987 Moytree Social Welfare Association
* Sher e Bangla Padak 27 April 1997
* CJFB (The Cultural Journalists Forum of Bangladesh) Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008
* Queen's Award for Excellence in Education (2001 and 2007)