Clowns, jugglers, gymnasts, trained animals and more - all under a huge colourful tent - totally dedicated to entertain their audience. A circus has always been a part of everyone’s childhood memories. But, this may not last very long. Reason? The Supreme Court ordered on Monday that children below 14 years of age cannot be employed in a circus.
Delivering its judgment on a petition by NGO ‘Bachpan Bachao Andolan’, a bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and A K Patnaik directed the government to issue a notification within eight weeks banning employment of children in circuses. Years ago when wild animals were banned from performing at circuses, the Indian circus industry experienced a downfall. Wild animals have always been a prime crowd puller. “When wild animals were banned from performing at a circus, the crowd went down incredibly and we had to compensate for it by inviting foreign artistes,” says John Mathew, one of the managers of Rambo International Circus.
And now with a restriction of children’s employment at a circus, the industry believes that their future is quite bleak. P T Dilip, owner of Rambo International Circus says, “This ban has not come as a surprise to us. Since the petition was filed by Bachpan Bachao Andolan, we have made sure that none of our performers are below the age of 14.” The youngest artist working with them is a 19-year-old clown.
He further adds, “The best age to start mastering a talent is nine. It is highly impossible to train a child at the age of 14. Because of this ban, I assume that five years down the line we may not have many ace artists left in the Indian circus industry.”
Biju Nair, an artist from Kerala, who has been entertaining audience in India and abroad for years, believes that this ban has its pros and cons. “I agree that studies are important and kids need to be educated, but an artist needs to start training at the age of nine to master that particular art,” he says.
Expressing his anger towards the Indian government he says, “Unlike other countries, in India, circus artistes are treated like nothing! We don’t have an identity card and even getting a sim card is difficult. I haven’t even voted till now!”
Nair believes that the government should not focus only on children who are employed at a circus, but also on the ones who are employed in other sectors.
“We find many kids selling products at railway stations or in trains. What about them?” he asks. “We are not against education. But, I think the government should open gymnastic schools so that kids can learn this art parallel to their studies. If the circus industry gets shut, what will we and our families do?” questions Nair.
