There’s a circus in town!

by Xara Khot

Yes!!! There’s a Rambo circus in the town of Belagavi!

But fewer and fewer people are coming to watch a circus.

Perhaps it is the rising cost of living. Perhaps it is the competition between television and cinema, both of which offer a synthetic type of entertainment. Sometimes it is a cricket match. Whatever it is that is keeping people away from circuses, it is disappointing,

Because poor attendance will kill an art form that has been developed since Greek and Roman times.

And when circuses die out, we will be left with only a plastic form of entertainment, commercialized and centralized. Like some Bollywood stars who are rich beyond anyone’s wildest imagination. TV show producers and TV channel owners are the only ones who will become fabulously rich while small-town artists will find it hard to feed themselves.

Circus artists today are a brave and hardy lot, who come out into the ring again and again, three times a day, with a smile on their lips, risking their lives, only to entertain us.

There are trapeze artists, who at 40 to 50 feet up in the air risk everything, trusting only the timing and perfect rhythm to hold on to each other.

There are sword swallowers, who must eat small quantities between shows – or only after the last show. This goes for the guzzler of water who brings out jugfulls of water in different colours.

This risk is doubled for Prasad who is on the high fast rotating dumbbell, and who cannot risk even a single misstep as there is no safety net for him. He challenges death bravely, three times a day.

There are teams of youngsters from our Northeastern States, who are acrobats, where a slight loss of concentration could result in a broken neck or spine.

There are young girls far away from home who perform incredible feats, on skates, cycles, or on the silken spinning sash.

They come to the ring and perform, even if there are only a handful of spectators.

All the circus artists and the support staff live like one big family, sharing their joys and sorrows, far away from their own homes, hoping to make an honest living and send some money back to support their parents and other loved ones.

They come here to entertain us. Let us take time off to go and support them enthusiastically.

Or this might be the last circus in town.

Location: Rambo Circus CP Ed. Ground, Club Road, Belagavi

Show: Daily 3 Shows from 30th August 2023 – 1:00 PM, 4:00 PM & 7:00 PM