At 18, petite looking Mina Karbi looks much younger than her age. “Trust me, I am 18 years old,” she giggles as I cajole her to tell me her real age. She giggles more when I ask her about elephants and deer entering their fields in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district, her home town. “Elephants come everyday. We are not scared,” she says, as she rushes to adjust her props.
Mina is one of the 50-odd members of what has remained of the 117-year-old Jamuna Circus. Jamuna Circus company was started in 1901 by Sardar Gurdeep and Ratnadeep Singh, who were circus artists initially before they went on to form their their own circus company.
“Papaji, our founder, was an expert globe rider,” says Rajendra Sahoo, pointing to gigantic circular structure made of cane. “Because it is round, it’s called a globe. Papaji rode a bike, from inside and outside the globe. People used to love his act,” he adds. Rajendra is the in-house manager at Jamuna circus.
Rajendra says Jamuna circus is now run by Gurdeep and Ratnadeep Singh’s son, Charanjeet after the demise of the couple. “Initially we were on par with all international circuses. We had exotic animal and birds. We had a lion, tiger and macaws. After the prohibition of the use of wild animals in circus, their animals were all seized,” says Rajendra. He is sad Jamuna circus is now reduced to acrobat acts.
It was hot and humid under the red and blue stripped tent. The patches of unmatched cloth on the slopping outer roof of the ‘big top’ was proof of how much the tent travels.
Chairs inside the tent are arranged in a circular pattern. The main arena is small — a little bigger than the biggest trampoline set. From different entrances on the sides of the tent, curious heads pop out to see what is happening. They cheer and tease the artistes as they speak to us.
HYDERABAD,TELANGANA,05/05/2018: (For The Hindu Metro Plus) An artists perform to entertain the crowds at Jamuna Circus in Hyderabad on Saturday. --Photo: Nagara Gopal
By the time Rajendra is done briefing about Jamuna circus, Mina was ready checking the safety grips, removing the tangles of the ‘Russian sari’. Their trainer, 60-year-old Naba Kumar Pal, pulls a thick plastic rope (the ones we see on boats) to hoist the harness which is attached to the Russian Sari — a white synthetic cloth about 25 meters long.
Wrapping one foot on end of the sari Mina reaches the top. She shows some acrobatic tricks and then finally does a vertical drop by untwirling herself from the sari. The trick is that she is still hanging by the sari. It’s a jaw-dropping act.
Mina was brought to the circus as a teenager by her uncle. Within no time she became the aerial queen. “It is nice to go around and see places. I go home when I miss my family,” she says with a smile.
As Mina gets behind the screen into their private quarters, 52-year-old Sati Mondal gets ready to show her act. Sati has just returned from her home town after a two-month- long break. Sati clips her hair, wears a pair of socks and instructs her helper to balance a vertical pole with six stands across and a basket on top.
The entire structure weighs about 10 kilograms. “I will play ball,” she smiles. It was initially an act with one ball, she and her team apparently worked on it and improvised the act to have two balls. As Sati lies on the wooden table, with her legs vertically up at 90 degrees, she balances the pole. Then juggles the ball with the stand. “This is why I am called the foot juggler,” she says with pride.
Sati is married to Naba Kumar Pal, the trainer at the circus. “It was not a love marriage. My uncle selected me for him and we got married. Then love happened,” she laughs, covering her mouth with her hand to hide her paan-stained teeth.
Sati and Naba have been married for 18 years. Now they are like parents to the younger ones. “Life in a circus is tough, but then it is our choice. If you don't like a life of wandering around, then circus is not for you. Circus is my life. There was no other way I could have seen the country, had it not been for the circus,” says Naba.
Naba was a flying trapeze artist when he joined Jamuna Circus. Then he went on to learn most of the tricks. He now trains newcomers and mentors them.
The circus and its members are one big family. They address each other with relation. “Sharmila is my daughter in the circus. Her husband the event manager is our son-in-law. These are the relations that keep us closer to home.” says Sati.
HYDERABAD,TELANGANA,05/05/2018: (For The Hindu Metro Plus) An artists perform to entertain the crowds at Jamuna Circus in Hyderabad on Saturday. --Photo: Nagara Gopal
It took us a while to understand Sharmila’s skills. “It is like Yoga. It is like exercise,” she says. Sharmila and others try to explain she is called the ‘boneless’.Many attempts at the right pronunciation later, a hand-gesture made things all clear. Sharmila’s husband, Poonam Chand Sharma holds his forearm and says, ‘bone’ and then gestures to explain ‘without.’ Finally ‘boneless’ Sharmila twists and turns her body to show her tricks. She curls up like a ball, then pulls her leg and rests her chin on her foot. Boneless indeed!
To put up a show of five hours, the artistes practice for four hours before sunrise, every day. “We do not use electricity. Everything runs on generator. After running it for 12 hours we shut the generator during the day,” says Mondal.
Circus culture may be dying now, but these artistes cannot think of any other way of life. Their love for the travelling circus keeps them going.
