Death of the Man with X-Ray Eyes

Mr India could turn himself invisible to the naked eye, boxing up bad guys all around. Maybe Mogambo should’ve hired Kuda Bux to beat him up in return!

Kuda Bux showing-off his skills; Source: The Weird Historian

Kuda Bux was a renowned mystic/magician of his time. His real name was Khudah Bukhsh, and he hailed from pre-independence Kashmir. Later, he became a citizen of Pakistan.

The idea of ‘Kuda Bux’, which was Khudah’s fancy stage name, came into being in the mid-1930s. He moved to the United States where he pursued his career of charming audiences with his magical feats. Kuda Bux could walk over flaming coal with his bare feet. Apparently, he could also control his heartbeat and pulse, and by some freakish miracle, he could survive for up to three hours being buried alive. He believed that it was an innate blessing of God, a sixth sense, of sorts, that enabled him to perform such wonders.

Kuda Bux was also featured on one of the first televised versions of the Ripley’s Believe It or Not program of oddities!

His most famous feat remains his ability to see without using his eyes. Known as the ‘Man with the X-Ray Eyes’, he was known for his spectacular performances, where he could allegedly see things despite being blindfolded. He could copy symbols written on a board (and even mathematical equations) and even fire a gun at a target under blindfold with his baffling eyeless vision.

A lot of scientists and investigators were doubtful of this ability because Kuda Bux was always blindfolded in a peculiar manner – covering his entire face, but leaving out his nostrils. Many alleged that he used the gap created between the face-cover and the bridge of the nose to tilt his face backwards and see through it. Alternatively, scientists also thought of it as a form of somnambulistic ability – the kind used by sleepwalkers when they’re able to navigate their way without being conscious or even being able to see their surroundings.

This, was never really uncovered by researchers. Kuda Bux died on February 5, 1981, leaving behind a mystery of whether he actually had supernatural powers, or he fooled numerous people with a sleight of hand!