The article, “A fine balance” (Sunday Magazine, Oct.23), took me down memory lane. I was a child when I made my first visit to a circus. It was sometime in the 1950s when Kamala Circus had come to Thalassery, Kerala, and pitched tents adjacent to Overburry’s Folly. A sports stadium stands there now, built with a donation from Kamala Circus owner Prof. Damodaran. I have even watched a cricket match between Andhra Pradesh and Kerala at the same spot; The Kerala captain team was from Thalassery. In fact Thalassery is referred as a three Cs town — Circus, Cricket and Cake.
When I began working in Marathwada, circus managers used to come to Udgir in Latur district to buy camels at annual village fairs. I always helped them. In return they gave me and my friends free passes for the inaugural show. A circus manager once told me that the secret of giving free passes was that it helped create a public opinion about the show.
Another advantage was that by not selling tickets on the first day, spectators would be under the impression that it was houseful as it was a good show. Kittunni, a small-time circus owner, used this technique. He would also print flyers with the warning: ‘The company is not responsible for any untoward incidence connected with wild animals’. Kittunni’s circus had only trained dogs but the flyers created excitement among schoolchildren as they wanted to see wild animals.
The Illustrated Weekly of India used to publish articles on different communities in India. I remember a series on the Thiyyas of Malabar called “Thiyyas on the top”. One of the themes was on circuses and Sukumar Azikode was one of the contributors.
K.V. Ramdas,Pune
