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With no shows for three months, circus troupes in dire straits in Pune
The Great Bharat Circus, which has put up the tents near Wagholi in Kesanand Phata has been affected financially
An empty tent is a circus group’s worst nightmare but the nationwide lockdown due to the Covid-19 has compounded the problems of an already struggling business, said Umesh Aagashe, proprietor of Great Bharat Circus in Pune.
Every year, circus tents come up in open spaces in the city and are a top draw for young and old alike. However, with circus business and its artistes reeling under crisis of poor footfalls and the given the current circumstances, the Great Bharat Circus and Rambo Circus have discontinued the shows. They are hoping to resume the shows in September or October.
According to these circus companies, business post lockdown will be completely unviable, which may pose major challenge for hundreds of people and animals part of troops.
The Great Bharat Circus, which has put up the tents near Wagholi in Kesanand Phata has been affected financially. The residents of Wagholi have started to raise funds for the crew.
Suraj Kumar Yadav who has been entertaining the crowd with his antics as a clown for the past five years with The Great Bharat Circus and is apprehensive when the circus will begin again. “We are getting food from the residents but that is not enough. The animals are getting enough animal fodder donated by people, but the circus owners are paying for milk and bread for dogs. What we need is support from the government, for soon it will be monsoon and we will be stuck with no work. We are hoping to see some relief by September or October, otherwise we will not survive.”
The 40-year-old The Great Bharat Circus was bought on contract by Umesh Aagashe two years ago. “The circus has a crew of 62 artistes and supporting staff with 24 animals including dogs, horses, camels and birds. We have not had a show since three months. There has not been a single Covid case in the troupe. We are all living in the circus premise and are maintaining social distance,” he said.
“We are facing an uncertain future and are in dire need of funds. Usually the daily expense of a circus is Rs 60,000-70,000 when we have performances. I haven’t paid any salary to my artistes since March. They have family and children to support,” said Aagashe.
Aagashe said that the artistes have marriages within the clan and the children are sent to boarding schools for education. “None of my artistes have homes to go to and the circus is their family. If the government doesn’t help us, we will have no future circus performances,” he said.
According to the Sujeet Dilip, member of Indian Circus Federation and owner of Rambo Circus, the days ahead will be even more difficult.
“We used to be a team of 40 circuses from India but are now down to 12 circus troops. We were in talks with the foreign circus owners to create new performances; however, we were hit by the pandemic. We are trying to manage with help of NGOs who are donating food and ration,” said Dilip.
Rambo circus is stranded in Airoli, Navi Mumbai and is getting support from the local corporators. “If the government allows circuses to begin after lockdown, where social distancing can be maintained, then it can help sustain this fading world of live entertainment,” said Dilip.
Anil Satav, a member of the Wagholi gram panchayat, who reached out to The Great Bharat Circus said, “Jijamata Bank donated food grains and animal fodder worth Rs 65,000 when the lockdown began. With no shows, and complete lockdown, the troupe is stuck within their tents and are cordoned off from the main road and the Wagholi village, hence we helped them with dog food 100kg, rice 350kg, gram 100kg,mugdal 50kg,2cans oil, onion 60kg, potato 55kg, animal feed 1,000kg, sugar 50kg, teapowder 5kg and maize 1,000kg.”
Dilip Nath of The Great Bombay Circus, which is stuck in Tamil Nadu with 80 artistes and support staff, is surviving with the support of the local government. “90 per cent of the circus industry is hit by this pandemic and we see less chances of survival of the smaller circus units with no support for the future. Hence we appeal to the government to lend us a support to stand on our feet again,” said Nath.