Circus Expedition

Yesterday, my sister and I went to The circus! Specifically, the Empire Circus at Cross Maidan, Fountain. Why? Because I had an excuse to. See, it's like this (cosy up and get comfy!):

A few friends of mine have started a 'spontaneous initiative' as they call it, called Hamara Footpath, in which on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays after 7:30pm on a footpath outside Churchgate Station, they spread newspapers and colour with street children (beggars, flower sellers and toddlers with nowhere to go), tell stories and interest them in learning. As a result, many children's motor and communiation skills have improved, and many have joined municipal schools. After seeing them hang about longingly at the gates of the circus, they decided to start a fundraising program to take them (50-odd childen) to the circus. Rs. 50 got them seats, a vadapao, a samosa and cold drinks. (The manager gave us Rs. 50 tickets at half-price, saying that was his contribution to charity - so sweet na?)

I joined in to meet them for a variety of reasons. To try to contribute financially as I cant temporally, because I genuinely believe that among the most important things in life are childhood memories and I seriously believe in a good quality of life for children filled with enriching experiences, to see what street kids are like outside their regular environment (stuid reason but still) meet my friends, and to see the circus – which I haven’t been to in maybe over a dozen years.

Stylistic paintings exhibiting the wonders present inside (taken from a show in Goa)

Its actually very exciting! The purple yellow and red striped Big Top, the iron gates in yellow and red with the differently prices seat entrances next to each other... the wonders if only one ventures around the tent to the back, the barely carpeted ground in the verandah, the pictures of sensual women reminiscent of old painted film banners and colours, the perceptible promise of food and fun!

The kids were so cute! My sister and I were a little shy at first, though my friends said to go and interact with whoever we wanted. Barely had we gotten into the general area of the kids and a couple of their mothers than these two little girls called out to us and insisted that we sit next to them. They moved a couple of biscuit containers and put their arm through ours and everything. Imagine getting that type of warmth, simplicity and lack of judgment from someone of our own class! They offered to move their chairs about because a log of wood used to erect the tent was blocking my view. Everytime the elephants came or the jokers did, they would grab my hand and point and yell excitedly and look at me to see if I was taking as much pleasure in it as they were. Another hilarious thing was that THREE of them in my vicinity, everytime they leaned forward to get a closer look, would slip off their chairs as the chairs lost balance. It was HILARIOUS – and their reactions ranged from laughter to discomfiture to tears. It was so sweet, and such a wondrous study of personalities!

As to the acts, notwithstanding some of the amazing acrobatics and flexibility and strength of the gymnasts, I was a tad disappointed. The show started off promisingly with the elephants doing arti and garlanding the shivalingam, as seen in the poster above, but there are no wild animals besides them now! There were African birds - macaws and cockatoos, and dogs, but apparently now wild animals are banned in circuses due to PETA efforts. And we used to be entertained by tigers and lions and bears and what what! Now we just had the acrobats, the domestic animals, and the annoying roaring motorcycle riders, who are very skilled, but very noisy. And the clowns, who we only saw very briefly. This article highlights that as well as issues related to circus performers. See below:

There are currently over 250 Nepali children working in circuses in India, over 80 percent of them female. Their fair complexion and Mongoloid features make them an exotic lure for Indian audiences, as does their renowned flexibility. The fact that they are Nepali makes them vulnerable: they are not legally India’s problem. Children are sold to circuses for as little as Rs 2,000 and forced to work for Rs 256 per week, if they get paid at all.
Reports of sexual abuse and even rape in circuses are rife. Young girls aged between 14 and 16 may be forced to ‘entertain’ the circus owner and his sons. There are few safety precautions in the ring, and regular injuries from accidents are left untreated. The nomadic nature of circuses means the children are prevented from going to school, and are instead thrust into the university of life.
Two recent developments in India have contributed to an increase in recruitment of circus children from Nepal. In the early 1990s, the success of the literacy campaign in Kerala, where circus performers were traditionally from, has meant that fewer Keralites are willing to join circuses. And lobbying by animal rights activists in India has made it illegal for wild animals to be used in shows (although elephants still count as domestic animals), leaving huge gaps in the circuses’ repertoire.
I visited two Indian circuses anonymously in January, the Asiad Circus in Bhopal and the Empire Circus in Bombay. The latter, which bills itself enigmatically as ‘An Exploring Exposition of Enthrilli Shows by Indian expertise’ (sic) was a sad three-hour marathon of tired acts in which the children’s revealing gold-sequinned costumes were held together by safety pins. Not a single child smiled during the three hour show I endured. It was payday and the festival of Eid when I visited, so at least the Empire played to a full house.

Last year, EBT conducted an undercover six-month survey of 22 circuses around India and appealed to India’s 30 main circuses to release the children they had bound to illegal contracts. The result was slight, yet encouraging: in January, three circuses travelled vast distances across India to the capital and handed over a total of nine children to the charity. The raid two weeks ago by child rights groups was more confrontational, the second phase of the campaign to repatriate Nepali children from circuses that refused to cooperate. EBT believes that its role is not only to retrieve the children from the circuses, but also to rehabilitate them within society, preparing them for a return to school or, in the case of the older children, for work.
One of the staff members at the ETB refuge, 17-year-old Maya, smiles broadly as she teaches basket-weaving and other marketable skills for teenage girls. But behind Maya’s smile are four years of pain when she worked as a circus performer. During that time she personally witnessed a fellow performer being beaten to death for the ‘crime’ of fainting from hunger. She feels able to talk about what she has seen, but many others choose to remain silent."


This was especially freaky as we discovered the Enpire Circus is Calcutta-based. My friend also commented on the East Indian features of the performers. And it's true - they didnt smile the entire time.

One of the actual acts of the Circus.

We quite enjoyed the samosa, vadapao and soft drink. But i was damn tempted by the icecream guys with their little cups and the chips guys also! But have to control diet. This Diwali has seriously made its presence felt on my ass with the shrikhand, fafdas, mathiyas, sheera and what not.

We didnt stay till the end though. So I dont know if the clowns came for longer. But I felt decidedly sadder at the pathos of it - a tent that doesnt seem as high as it once used to, people that dont seem as glamourous as they once did, animals that dont do the tricks they once did (which is good). Tiredness, jadedness, and boredom, that permeated the dusty still air throughout except for our 4 rows of laughing, surprisingly disciplined kids.

Im still definitely taking my kids to the circus though. Its important to inculcate and maintain a sens eof wonder at the world. Better that than cynicism!