Wednesday, January 19, 2011

FROM INDIA---

Life in a circus: The story behind the scenes
Vikram Joy Wed Jan 19 2011,
From a couple who fell in love while working with the circus company, got married and now travel together to perform, to a dwarf who went to see a circus a decade ago and decided never to return home, the New Apollo Circus, currently on in Manimajra for almost two months now, offers many fascinating, behind-the-scenes stories.
“We met at the circus and liked each other. We told our parents; they came and performed the rituals. Since then we have travelled together with this circus company,” says 23-year-old Raj, who is originally from Darjeeling. While Raj performs stunts in the “Maut Ka Kuan”, his wife Anju does her routines on bicycles and jeeps. Married for four years now, the couple have a 18-month-old daughter and are enjoying their stint with this circus.
But Ravi Kumar Baghel, the 20-year-old dwarf from Agra, surely isn’t. “I miss the tigers,” he says. Baghel has been essaying the role of a joker for over a decade now. It was nearly 10 years ago when he came to see the circus with relatives and got so fascinated that he did not feel like going back. Ravi feels circus has lost its crowd due to lack of animals like tigers and holds the government responsible for this. He is also not happy with the ban that prevents the purchase of new elephants

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