The Indian Circus 🎪

 

 

India has a long tradition of street performers and artists who would move from town to town. However, circus is a fairly new industry. According to Philip Astley, an English dire master, the first Indian circus was born around 1880.

THE GREAT INDIAN CIRCUS

[The Great Indian Circus was the first modern Indian circus, founded by Prof. Vishnupant Chatre, an accomplished equestrian and singer. It flourished under the patronage of the Raja of Kurduvadi, under whom Chatre worked as a stable master. The first performance of The Great Indian Circus was held in 1880 following which it toured extensively throughout the country as well as in foreign shores such as Ceylon and South East Asia. Chatre gained appreciation everywhere. However, his tour to North America was a failure where he could not match the size and grandiose of his competitors. Vishnupant Chatre is called the Father of Indian Circus,

KEELERI KUNHIKANNAN

Chatre met Keeleri Kunhikannan during his tour in the city of Tellicherry (now Thalassery) on the Malabar Coast. Keeleri Kunhikannan worked as a martial art and gymnastic teacher. On Chatre's insistence, Keeleri started training acrobats at his academy. In 1901, he opened a Circus school at Chirakkara (Kerala), which became the epicentre of the circus revolution in India.

In 1904, one of Kunhikannan's student Pariyali Kannan started his own circus company by the name of Grand Malabar Circus. Other companies such as Whiteway Circus (1922) Great Ramayan Circus (1924), The Great Lion Circus, the Eastern Circus, The Fairy Circu etc. were also started by the students of Kunhikannan. Thus, Kerala came to be known the 'Cradle of Indian Circus',

Kunhikannan's academy also gave rise to a number of acrobats who gained national and international acclaim. Kannan Bombayo, a ropedancer, graduated from Kunhikannan academy in 1910, went on to perform for several European and American Circus Companies After Kunhikannan's death in 1939, his student M. K. Raman continued his legacy. the Government of Kerala started a Circus Academy in Thalassery in the honour of Kecleri Kunhikannan. He has rightly been conferred the epithet of "The father of Kerala circus"

MAJOR CIRCUS COMPANIES IN INDIA

Even though Indian circus companies failed to compete with American and European competitors, nonetheless, they remained a major source of entertainment for the Indians till the late 1990s. Some of the major Indian circuses are :

Three Ring Circus

Damodaran started his fledgling circus as a two-pole circus in 1930s. It gained popularity over South India and later became the first and only six-pole three-ring circus of Asia.

Great Royal Circus

It is one of the oldest circus troupes in India which started as Madhuskar's Circus in 1909. Later it was taken over by N.R. Walawalkar and was renamed as Great Royal Circus. It toured cessfully through Africa, the Middle East and South-East Asia.

Great Bombay Circus

Started in 1920 by Baburao Kadam, it was initially known as Grand Bombay Circus. In 1947, K. M. Kunhikannan, the nephew of Keelen Kunhikannan, merged his circus company with the Grand Bombay Circus, and renamed it as Great Bombay Circus. It became one of the largest circus companies of India, with a troupe comprising of 300 performers and 60 imals.

Gemini Circus

In 1951, Gemini Circus came into existence at Bilimora in Gujarat. It was helmed by M. V.

Shankaran, an ex-army man. A master aerialist and acrobat, he became popular as Gemini

Shankarettan

In 1964, Gemini Circus became the First Indian Circus to attend the International Circus Festival in USSR. They held shows at Moscow, Sochi and Yalta Gemini Circus also became the backdrop of many Indian movies such as Raj Kapoor's Mera Naam Joker.

Jumbo Circus

Jumbo Circus, "The Pride of India" is the largest Indian circus of modern times. It started in Bihar in 1977 and was later acquired by the Shankaran family. It generally included Russian acrobats and performers.

CIRCUS: A MARGINAL INDUSTRY

 Since the late 90s, circus industry has dwindled and declined owing to From 300 Indian Circuses in 1990, the number has come down to just 30 in 2017.

Some of  the reasons for the decline of India's circus industry are as follows: 

Indian circus companies try to keep their trade a guarded secret. This has made a hereditary affair keeping it within the confines of a select few. This has prevente good managers from entering the circus business. 

The Indian circus companies suggest that circus acrobatics require intensive 

training from childhood. With the Supreme Court's ban on hiring children below the age of 14 in 2011, this limited the resource pool of the circus companies

With the Government of India enforcing ban on the use of wild animals for the purpose of entertainment in 1997, a typical genre of performance and attracties for the audience ceased to exist.

  Among the Indian masses, circus is generally seen as a dangerous profession Due to which families are unwilling to let their children choose it as a viabl professional career. This has also prevented the development of dynasties of circus performers, unlike in the west.

With access to world class gymnastics and other forms of e-entertainment, the younger generation has lost interest in the traditional Indian circus. The circu companies also failed to match up to their expectations.

Possible Remedies 

The opening of Indian Circus Academy at Thalassery in 2010 was a step in the right direction. Sadly, the academy is on the verge of closure due to less number of trainees and financial constraints. However, some other possible remedies for the revival of Circus Industry could be :

• An increased emphasis on the safety regulations and strict enforcing of same would help in improving the perception of circus as a career opportunity

• Circus can be used to promote the dying arts among the masses. This would also

increase the attraction quotient of the circuses.

 • Government protection for the circus performers and the companies would also help in reviving the dying industry. Most artists retire by the age of 40, after which they have to work as manual labourers. Security and compensation for them is a necessity,

                                         

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