Yeh Duniya ek Circus hai!!!!

“Circus hai bhai Circus hai!!! Ye duniya ek Circus hai!!”, And so went the title track of a popular Hindi TV serial, aired a few years ago. An immensely popular serial, it did its bit in explaining to the common man what the triumphs and traumas of the world of Circus were…It was the “zamaana” of DoorDarshan, and its every episode was watched by youngsters and adults alike with great interest.

At the time the serial was aired, I was in the age group of watching the actual circus rather than the TV serial. Every time the circus caravan arrived in town, my parents took my sister and me to watch the acrobats, the lions and tigers, the clowns… Going to a circus was definitely considered a huge huge treat!!

Reminiscing about your childhood always gives you such a fondly lingering nostalgia na!! This new year, we decided to relive this nostalgia!! On the 1st of January, a couple of friends and I decided to go to the Circus that had just come to town. I don’t need to tell you how most of my friends reacted, do I! 🙂 Most of them started laughing at us the moment we uttered the sentence, “Hey!! How ’bout going to the circus??” Others said “eee!! Circus!! How boring!!”. Many also carried out the task of reminding us that we were no longer kids!! <Sigh!!> (Why do people have to keep telling you that!!! 😦  )

But regardless of all this, our trio went ahead to watch the Rambo circus, to reopen that folded chit of paper, that had remained ignored in some pocket of my mind, since several years!!

Reading ‘long-forgotten-about’ chits of childhood can be so much fun, I tell you!! Its somewhat like rediscovering hidden treasures of childhood, the marbles, the stones, the coins, the pencil shavings, wow!! The smallest of joys that they impart contribute to a very happy childhood!!

This is what I always believed, and my belief was reinstated on the 1st day of this year!!! At the Rambo circus!!!

All excited and geared up, we reached the venue, and selected comfortable seats. After some wait, the circus finally started with one of the most interesting items…the Trapeze!!

The sight of several acrobats synchronously swinging from one side of the dome to another attracted quite a few rounds of applause!! Not to forget the histrionics of the star of the circus…the Joker!!!

Then the other regular acts followed. Gymnasts tried their hands at different drills and balancing acts. Clowns came in between items and tickled the funny bone of the audience! Animals in the circus were limited to Horses, Elephants, dogs and parakeets; since there is a ban on wild animals being used as acts in circuses. Nevertheless, the antics by dogs and parrots, the game of cricket played by the elephants, the horses and their riders all gathered the appreciation of the public..

All-in-all, it was a very nice experience! Although there were moments in which the items couldn’t hold our interest persistently,thanx to our so-called maturity that comes with age; we thoroughly enjoyed the time of 2-2 n 1/2 hours.

But yeah, the constant thinker (unnecesarily, as some of my friends feel..hehe…) that I am, during, and after the circus, I kept thinking about the different things that came to my mind while watching the Circus.

The professionals working in the circus , for one! I don’t know if many of you are aware, but it’s a fact that most of the circus artistes are not just underpaid, but also don’t benefit from the regular employment facilities like pension, insurance, etc. They are quite susceptible to fatal injuries while practising/performing their dare-devil feats, but yet are provided with no insurance or hospitalization cover. The animals in the circus too are supposedly ill-treated and not fed well.

Well doesn’t this present a real ironic situation in life?? The people, the animals who entertain us a lot, help in revitalizing our health (laughter is the best medicine , remember??) are themselves deprived of basic amenities of life! Their dresses while performing may be all glittering, but their future is definitely not gold..

Mostly, people who work in these circuses come from a very poor background; like those where it is hard to feed children, and are hence sent off to work at circuses. Most of the acrobats in these circuses are so flexible , so athletic, that if given proper training, can actually participate in international sports events as gymnasts. But alas they don’t have the money, the opportunity, awareness or the motivation..(As a child I always wondered why Indians never qualify for events like Gymnastics…now I realize that the medal deserving lot is sweating it out at the circus, instead of holding the Indian tricolor high at the Olympics!!)

Of course, this in no way means that these artistes don’t contribute to our country… As I’ve already said, entertaining the public is no small achievement… however, they actually are not contributing to themselves. A lot of talent that could have been used to get medals and decorations for our country is being spent in earning claps and whistles from the circus-goers. Of course, I can’t straight away claim that it’s bad….. ’cause looking at it in another perspective, they are bringing joy to people , who of course make up the country!

Hey, we looked at the circus in so many different ways right now… But the Kaleidoscope can still be tilted even more…..but for the sake of all those who reached this far, won’t torture you people even more…More about circus, life at the circus, life in the circus, and the circus of life, in some other post.. 🙂