Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Fun at the circus


Close encounter : The clowns with the ghost! Photo: R. Ravindran
from: www.thehindu.com

by Madhumitha Srinivasan

Jan 23, 2012

The Great Bombay Circus is in town, again. The shows are entertaining as well as performances of skills.It's a world that many of you would have read about, dreamt of its grandeur and even fantasised about being a part of it. In the city many had the opportunity to witness its magic first-hand. The Great Bombay Circus!
Here's some history. It was Baburao Kadam who founded the Grand Bombay Circus in 1920 which was later renamed the Great Bombay Circus when K.M. Kunhikannan the artist and founder of the Whiteway and Hind Lion Circuses merged in 1947.
This circus has entertained many a big names like the King Mahendra of Nepal and his queen, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, former Tamil Nadu chief minister and actor M.G. Ramchandaran and more. The Great Bombay Circus has also been the setting for films like “Krish”, “Don” starring Amitabh Bachchan and was also recently seen in the film “7am Arivu” where actor Surya plays the role of a circus artist. In fact, the circus had a performance by a cycle artist who, it was announced, had trained Surya for his role.



The show kick-started with a trampoline act and was followed by juggling, a parade, acts on hoop-shaped swings suspended in the air, acrobatics by African artists, whip act by Russian artists, trapeze acts and many more.
No circus is complete without the clowns. They managed to tickle the funny bone every now and then with their goof-ups and tricks. The children in the audience were in awe of the daredevil stunts performed by the artists and laughed the hardest when the clown's pants came off mid air or when he was chased by a “ghost”.
According to their website, the circus now has around 300 employees including 30 male artists, 60 female artists, 40 administrative staff and 180 support staff. When you see them at work on stage and behind the scenes erecting the props and sets with clock-work precision, you realise there's more than just magic — it's more about hard work, team work and a passion for the circus.

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