There was a dusty silence in the main ring, where seating rises in circles. The red and teal strings used for aerial tricks sag with the weariness of the past 40 days of performances.
At Putharikkandam Maidanam in East Fort, the Great Bombay Circus (GBC) was in winding-up mode, and preparing to move to Kannur for the next show.
“We do not know if we will be back again. The future is uncertain,” says Shivananda Sukumar, a manager.“While many companies have downed shutters, the GBC remains because of its legacy and the passion of the owners. After all, the 100-year-old company has had a golden run.”
But the golden run has lost sheen. Losses have piled up, audiences have thinned. “Old-school fans still come. But a lot has changed since the ban on use of animals in circuses,” adds Shivananda.
Shaji T K, another official of GBC, points out that there are numerous other entertainment avenues for the public now. “Moreover, we receive no support from the government,” he says.
The uncertainty weighs most on the artistes. Sonia, 19, born to circus parents, is already considering life beyond the ring. “Maybe, I will become a beautician,” she says.
For Liza, Nanditha, Safina, and Sita — women with 10 to 30 years under the canvas — the questions run deeper. Liza and Safina, both from Nepal, joined circuses as children. “My mother sent me away when I was very young. Those days, agents would lure financially disadvantaged families to let their children join circus companies,” says Liza.
“I have two children. They live with my relatives in Kolkata. At times I feel like quitting and being with my little ones, but the thought of providing them a comfortable life makes me stick on.”
Sita — who rides the motorcycle in the famed ‘Well of Death’ — nods in agreement. One of her children stays with her in the camp, and the other with her mother-in-law in Kolkata.
Baby P, from Kannur, perhaps the last of Tellicherry’s famed circus lineage, joins the conversation: “I will not let my toddler follow this path. There is not much respect for people like us outside the ring. It’s not a fancied career anymore.”
Meanwhile, the Ethiopian artistes exude a different energy. “I love to be in a circus, travelling to different countries. My dream is to work with the Cirque du Soleil, one of the world’s biggest circuses,” says 20-year-old Ermiyas Grmay.
The Ethiopians replaced the Russians a few years ago. “The Ethiopians come well-trained. But training Indians, who now enter at age 18 or 19, is a bit of a task,” says trainer Tej Singh Dhami Vijayakumar, who has been with GBC for 35 years.
Old hands like him, Pappu Yadav, and veteran joker Tulsidas Chowdhury reminisce the glorious days when crowds burst at the seams. Will they return? The team’s next stop is Kannur, where the circus hopes for a better run. “Each day’s cost in running the circus is about `1 lakh,” Shivananda.
“Even breaking even is tough, as footfall has slumped. Yet, we celebrate each day, and a little more during festivals like Onam. Always with the hope that the show will go on.”