There may not be a large crowd, but those who are there are enamoured by the show on stage. Jumbo circus is in town. Spinning, turning, tossing, twirling - anything seems possible for the artists at the circus.
Jugglers toss glass bottles and steel plates in the air. In comes a young boy. With two hands holding onto two metal rods fixed to the ground, he props himself up into the air- head down and legs up. And then he goes round and round like a whirlwind.
The African acrobats, the highlight of the show, with six males and two females burst onto the stage full of vigour and infectious smiles. One manages to limbo beneath a flaming rod just a few inches off the ground while another puts a flaming torch into his mouth. One atop the other, all eight form themselves into an amazing vertical parallelogram. Their last act, a pole dance, perfectly synchronized, is the icing on the cake.
Graceful and lithe, the artists from Manipur bring in front of you rope dance, saree dance, ring dance and cycling stunts. Most surprising is how an artist manages to lie on a bed of knives and still smiles. In another corner off the main stage, motorcyclists zoom around in a globe. The last act is a gigantic undertaking, a trapeze act. Around ten acrobats take turns at tossing each other in the air. You hold your breath and hope they catch each other in the nick of time. They do, faultlessly.
Behind the circus, the scene is very different. There are tents everywhere. Beside the basic furniture, each tent also has a satellite TV dish.
Love's in the air
For, Rahul and Geeta, the circus brought romance into their lives. Rahul, a fire dancer and Geeta, a cyclist met at the circus. They share a special attachment to Coimbatore because this is where the two got married. “We got married right here in the circus tent”, says Rahul and shows me photographs of his wedding. They have a one and a half year old baby boy now called Gaurav.
In between shows , the Africans play football. Dressed in bright red and blue jerseys, they enjoy the game. Ramadan, the 23-year old fire-eater sits and watches his friends play. When I ask him where he's from, a smiling Ramadan spells out, Tanzania for me.
Ajay Shankar, one of the Managing partners of the Jumbo Circus runs three other circuses, Gemini circus, the Great Royal Circus and the Jumbo Original Circus. He speaks of the travails of running a circus now. M.V. Shankaran, Ajay's father started the Gemini Circus in 1951. He was a trapeze artist. Subsequently, the Jumbo circus was started in 1977.
“Things have changed drastically for us. We have no support from the Government. The circus comes under the Sports ministry. Yet, unlike athletes, circus artists have no quota when it comes to Government jobs. What is the source of income for these people when they are no longer fit to perform in the circus?” asks Ajay. The Russian Government, on the other hand gives its circus artists half of their salary as pension once they retire, he points out.
“Also, each time we move to a new place, we have to get a sanction from the Police, Fire Department, PWD, Health Department and Electricity Board to get a license. It's like setting up a house each time. Why can't we be given a license for a period of two years?” he asks.
Getting artists at a young age is essential to train them well. “We will make sure they are educated through correspondence courses. Now, we get them only when they are 15 years old. During my father's time, artists came into train when they were 10 years old. Otherwise the artists can never be good enough. If the artists are not good enough, the circus is sure to die a slow and unnatural death,” states the owner.
