Dad, I want to do magic

This is a story of hope and positivity that Suhani Shah is spreading among millions of attendees to her workshops and seminars. This 22 year old left her schooling while she was 7. Today at 22, Suhani is a Magician, orator, psychosomatic counsellor and a hypnotherapist. Mr CK Shah, her father, shared their journey with us at the Swashikshan launch event. Presented below is the transcript of his talk.

Once upon a time, my daughter came up and told me, “Dad, I want to do magic”. And I said OK. After a few days she said, “I want to become a magician”. Seeing the seriousness in her eyes, I said, “Let’s do it”. And after eight months I was right there sitting in the audience with the Gujarat Chief Minister along with all his Ministers, watching my seven year old perform her first three hour stage show on the 22nd of October 1997. It was a kick-start.

Three months later she performed in Mumbai before she got a contract to perform in the US of A. The contract wanted her to perform in Georgia during that time of the year when she had to appear for her second grade final exams. I was standing at the crossroads. One way led to her sitting in a class of sixty and the other made her perform in front of probably sixty thousand. The decision was clear.

My wife and I had made up our mind and off we went to the United States. The journey had begun. She performed there and in many different states of the country. Living out of suitcases had become our lifestyle. During all this, I would keep buying several books for her. Travelling overseas and all the different parts of the country, observing different cultures, societies, traditions and concept, I was witnessing my child get real life knowledge rather than just academic. I found her thoughts to be sincere and holding deep meaning. The way she saw and analysed people and life at the young age, really made me happy. And one fine day, I suggested her to pen down her thoughts. It was easy for me to suggest that but there was a big challenge involved here.

Coming from an absolute Hindi speaking family and not attending school after grade one, how could she turn her thoughts into black and white was the question. She did not know how to write in Hindi language and was not very fluent in English.

What followed was four months of English learning. Grammar books of grade one to grade ten was brought for her. Nobody really taught her anything. She learnt whatever she wanted and however she wanted. Nevertheless, we made it a point, to make her realise what is important and what did not hold water. Soon, she wrote her book titled ‘Complete, All You Need is in You’ based on the topic of mind and human psychology. At the age of fifteen she became the author of now very popular, ‘Unleash your hidden power’. After the launch of the book she was called to give speeches and conduct seminars in various institutes, companies and various organisations. All this while, she kept learning English language, mathematics and science at her convenience. She then started giving two days’ training program, titled ‘Conquer your self – To Conquer the World’. This training program is attended by lawyers, psychiatrists, doctors and many other professionals.

The sight of my little princess train highly educated individuals gives me a feeling of satisfaction that makes me believe that the risk I had taken years ago of home schooling my child was the right one. It has been four years now that she is successfully running her clinic in Goa called ‘Suhani Mindcare’ and has been changing lives of people towards better and positive living.

This is the story of my twenty two year old – told in two minutes. The journey has obviously not been as easy as it seems. But then we never expected it to be easy. Who said that going to school, college, getting a degree, a job or starting a business is easy? Well, whatever way we choose, difficulties are always going to be there.

By home schooling, we can at least select what difficulties we want. My daughter studied what she wanted along with what was necessary without any examination pressure, without any nightmare, without the fear of teachers, without tuitions and without any scolding. She gained knowledge through various mediums, be it talking to people across age groups, watching news channel and most of all taking advantage of the technology. She did not go to school after first standard but did basic diploma in computers at the age of seven and did web designing at the age of nine. She has been a Gujarat state swimmer, an amazing magician, conducts seminars and workshops on mind and mind control, has authored five books, works as a psychosomatic counsellor, a hypnotherapist and has a clinic in Goa.

But apart from all this, one main thing that home schooling has got in her is the ability to compete with herself unlike the school culture where the students compete with each other. She believes in herself, improves herself and holds the ability to decide what’s right and wrong for herself and her life.