Circus, Then & Now

All eyes are glued to the main stage, as tightrope walkers, fire jugglers, trapeze artistes and clowns take turns to alternately amuse, beguile and amaze us, occasionally take our breath away too. A girl in a glittering bodysuit perched on an elephant's trunk enters to an enthusiastic applause. She proceeds to do a trapeze act, holding on to a ring hanging from its trunk, while the elephant, height increased by perching on a precarious platform, rotates counter clockwise. Seems like hard work, especially for the elephant, but it's all in a day's routine. Thunderous claps follow as the glittering lights are turned off and on to present the grand stage of the Circus feats created with high standards of performance and presentation. Despite a drop in patronage, circus still remains vibrant and continues to allure elders and children alike. I could see this when I went to enjoy the "New Golden Circus" one among the three circuses currently touring in Kukatpally & Attapur areas in Hyderabad.

In earlier days, circus used to evince a lot of interest among the public. People thronged the venue to have a glimpse of trained animals they might have heard or seen on papers. But after the Government's blanket ban on using wild animals in circus [Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, Wildlife Protection Act, and Performing Animals (Registration) Rules] the turn out of spectators has come down considerably. But with the ban that was put in place years ago on the exhibition of wild animals, the aura associated with circus has faded away . Animals were the backbone of the circus. In the absence of the tigers and lions, it's the elephant, horses, dogs and birds that are performing mesmerizing acts to entertain the audience.
The two-and- half-hour show is packed with 26 items when 50-odd artistes put the show together to entertain their patrons, performing such daredevil acrobatics, balancing and coordinated acts, it leaves us all wide-eyed and in awe. As an ardent admirer right from my childhood, I have so far witnessed more than 25 Circus shows. I must say Circus is the first and may be the last real show business that has the ability to put people on the edge of the seat, with its awe-inspiring daredevil feats.No matter what kind of new forms of entertainment come and go, circus still remains vibrant and continues to allure elders and children alike, though at a lesser level of patronage now than before.