By BETWA SHARMA
Betwa Sharma [photo]
J. K. Sharma, a Sikh magician at his shop in Shor Bazaar in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 7.
KABUL, Afghanistan — J.K. Sharma, a large Sikh man in a black turban, works out of a small room lined with jars and herbs in the ruined and dusty Shor Bazaar in Kabul. In a war-ravaged country where miracles are in short supply, Mr. Sharma makes a living as a magician, providing advice and talismans to Muslim Afghans for a fee.
On an August afternoon, Mr. Sharma, who refused to divulge his real name, stroked his salt-and-pepper beard as a nervous Afghan man sought help to getting the girl he loved to marry him in the face of parental objections. Mr. Sharma stared intently at the two dice with markings after he had rolled them a few times.
“Don’t worry, you will get the girl,” he declared with a broad smile. The magician charged the man 1,000 Afghan rupees, or $17, for an amulet. Read more…
