Great Bombay Circus, India’s oldest circus company, is walking a financial tightrope

Circuses across the country are going through a tough time. The Great Bombay Circus is no exception

“There is risk every day...one has to be careful. But I am not scared,” says trapeze-trampoline artiste Dorendra Singh, ahead of Great Bombay Circus’ (GBC) first show at Putharikandam Maidan in Thiruvananthapuram.

GBC has returned to Thiruvananthapuram after 14 years. There are three shows daily, each two hours long with 34 acts, which includes juggling, acrobatics, shooting, trapeze, trampoline, aerial acts, hula hoop, cycle tricks, sword-swallowing…. “The 7pm-show is always a favourite with the audience with the night lights on and additional performances thrown in, like the fire breathing act,” says troupe manager Jayaprakash PV, who has been a part of the circus for 33 years now.

There are hardly 10 circus troupes across the country and all of them have been struggling to keep their businesses afloat. With new avenues of entertainment available, the Big Top does not hold the same magic for the current generation. “Great Bombay Circus turned 100 in 2020, but we couldn’t celebrate it. The pandemic and lockdown left us high and dry. Shows restarted in last December,” says KM Sanjeev, who runs the circus in partnership with his elder brother, Dileep Nath.

Currently, GBC has 134 members out of which 64 are performers. They hail from Assam, Manipur, Bihar and Gujarat, in addition to some artistes like Sabina Maharjan, a hula hoop artiste and a fire dancer. “This is the third troupe I am working with. Bahaar se acha tho idhar hai (It is better inside this tent than outside). Of course, the training sessions are difficult. But life is all about overcoming obstacles and moving on,” says Sabina.

Hailing from Nepal, Dorendra Singh has been in the circus for nearly two decades now. “I had come to Mumbai as a young boy to meet some friends. It was there that I got attracted to the circus. I took training and eventually started working in the circus,” he says, adding that he found his partner, Priya Dulal, in the circus tent. They have a 13-year-old son.

It takes hours of practice and patience to nail the act, says Priya Nair, a veteran on the tightrope. In her act, she kicks saucers and tea cups onto her head while balancing herself on a thin rope. Although her roots are in Kudamaloor in Kottayam district, Priya says she has hardly lived in the State and has been with GBC for 12 years. Most of the young artistes are trained in balancing acts on ropes and cycles by Bengaluru-based Bhanumathi Ramachandran.

The star attraction of GBC is a six-member men’s team from Ethiopia — Abel, Yared, Dawit, Bir Hanu, Aschalew and Ayenew. It is a treat to watch them groove to Afro-beats, while performing jaw-dropping acrobatics, and juggling with a diabolo (a type of yo-yo). “The audience is extremely appreciative of what we do. We like it here, except for the food. It is spicy, so we cook our own food,” says Abel. All of them are students of a circus school in Addis Ababa.