Click to play videoNew Delhi: Hundred performers and over 40 different acts perfected after years of practice and performance. It's one of India's great entertainment traditions. Welcome to the world of circus.
But who's watching? Today the circus barely has an audience. Even with tickets costing as little as Rs 25, the seats remain empty. The Indian circus is barely surviving. What made it go out of fashion? Why are people not queuing up outside these tents? What motivates circus artists to risk their lives for hundreds of empty chairs?
Great Bombay Circus cyclist Subhash says, “Earlier all three shows used to be houseful but now all shows almost goe empty.”
The applause for circus has also died because the industry lacks infrastructure. Most circus companies are suffering losses and many are just about breaking even. A crunch of resources leads to substandard acts resulting in empty chairs.
Ashok Shankar from Indian Circus Federation says, “Today the condition of the circus owners is not good enough to invest money. It is just hand to mouth. So once you are into the industry, it is difficult just to maintain it.”
And the empty chairs in turn further demoralises the artists.
Great Royal Circus gymnastics trainer Jayakumar says, “We enjoy performing to a full audience. We start lacking enthusiasm when the audience turn out is not encouraging. We feel bored even at the time of displaying our talent.”
Many of those who choose to watch the two-hour show are disappointed.
Meena and the audience say, “The quality has gone down in circus.”
Jayakumar was awed by the circus when he was all of seven years. He ran away from home to join his uncle -- a circus manager. Today, Jayakumar is a gymnast, a flying trapeze artist and a trainer as well. He finds there are problems within the industry. Most young artists want to make a quick buck without the hard work. They are hired on contract for a short while and often choose to move on.
“Time has changed. During our time the training and everything was different. Now young people are not much interested in training and all,” Jayakumar adds.
The law does not recognise children in circus as junior artists. Children under 14 years are in fact termed as child labourers even if they're gymnasts or acrobats and with age, learning the tricks just gets tougher.
Great Royal Circus trainer Das says, “Bada hone se fir jo apna kamar ka yeh sab karne ke liye, roll karne ke liye ho nahi sakega. Wo log ko taqleef hoga, yeh chhota hone se jaldi hum log kara sakta. Hum log sab chhota main he kiya.
Circus artists feel their profession is no longer roaring with life because they are not permitted to keep wild animals. They say lions, tigers, leopards and bears were instrumental in attracting crowds.
Great Bombay Circus owner Dilip Nath Nair says, “I don't want 40 tigers give me two each just two for showing the coming generation in smaller town where they don't have access to zoo. I don't want tiger to jump into the hoop. I don't want to lift his leg.”
But activists say animals are trained by the police, the army and the film industry among others and the least we can do is spare them from being used for entertainment.
Animal Rights Activists Norma Alvares says, “Circus companies are not at all equipped to maintain these animals. They cannot give them space, they've got to keep them chained, they keep them in small, closed conditions, in cages and so on.”
Circus owners also believe the public doesn't have the power or the inclination to shell out enough money on performing arts.
“Where is the money power with the Indian audience? The best circus abroad is across $300 and $200 work that out for yourself – Rs 15,000 and Rs 12,000 you are paying me Rs 100. I can show you this much there is a limit where you can stretch Rs 100,” Nair adds.
Owners feel they're going around in circles where the Government is concerned. Apart from entertainment tax exemption and concession on railways, they're offered little else. Grounds are usually on the outskirts, making circus inaccessible to a majority of the people. Ground rates in prime locations are simply not affordable.
Circus artists are not even recognised as skilled performers and as a result there is no formal training or academics for circus.
But many say the crux of the problem is that Indian circus lacks innovation and vision.
Theatre director Roysten Abel says, “The world has moved on, visual arts have moved on but the circuses are the same. The only place where they're trying to get some improvement is with the getting artists, acrobats from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan or you know these to come down and do another act within their own existing poor show and hoping that if they have a Russian artist, they will draw the crowd.”
Even the music in circus mostly consists of tasteless Bollywood film songs and musicians themselves are bored of performing. K V Lalji has been performing with circus orchestras for about 40 years now. He says technology has taken away the challenge from his job.
Lalji says, “Earlier the orchestrate style used to be different. The music used to be different. But time has changed everything is like automatic compose.”
Scarcity of funds, fading public interest, a ban on animals and a decline in the quality of artists are some problems that the circus is facing today. Once a popular and unique form of entertainment, today the great Indian circus is dying a slow death.
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