The dilemmas behind the disappearing act of the great Indian circus

Once upon a time, there lived a man they loved to call the Indian Prince. Damodar Gangaram Dhotre aka Damoo was brave and courageous, entertaining crowds as he worked with leopards, lions and tigers under the big top. It was the 1930s, a time when international troupes would visit India in search of talent, and Damoo was soon recruited by the US-based circus, Ringling Brothers. The Indian Prince, as he came to be known, also travelled with foreign circuses across Russia, UK and Europe.

But this is no fairytale and there is no happily ever after, at least for the circus that Damoo so loved. Eight decades on, the circus in India is dying, slowly but surely, in these days of instant e-entertainment, cinema and other varied restrictions. Child artistes have been banned as have wild animals and if the Animal Welfare Board of India’s (AWBI)  proposal is accepted, other animals might be banned too .

Damoo’s era and the glorious days of the circus are long over, says his grandson Anand Dhotre, who now runs the Damoo Dhotre Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that fights for the rights of circus artistes in India. Performers come under the jurisdiction of the Sports and Youth Affairs department of the central government.

“Circus performances are a traditional art in India. Yet, they aren’t recognised by the government’s culture department. Hence, when a circus shuts down, the artists are left to fend for themselves,” says Dhotre, who is trying to get all circus employees together under an umbrella organisation.

The circus industry in India is 130 years old. In the 1990s, India had close to 300 circuses. Twenty years later, this number has dwindled down to  just about 30, a massive 90 per cent drop. Circus owners peg the rapid decline in the number of circuses to the central government ban on the use of wild animals in 1997 and the subsequent Supreme Court verdict to ban children from performing at circuses in 2011.

While rights activists believe that many circuses exploit not just animals, but also children under the guise of entertainment, circus owners argue that this is not so.

Bachpan Bachao Andolan, an NGO fighting for child rights, petitioned the Supreme Court against the issue of children being bought or abducted and forced to work at circuses. The apex court responded in a sternly worded judgment and banned child performers.

“I understand the need to protect children but what the government does not understand is that these child artistes have parents employed with the circus as well,” says Sujit Dilip, owner of Rambo Circus.

According to him, the entire family would stay together. Children would begin training at the age of 12, when their bodies were nimble, but were also given an education by the teachers who travelled with the circus, he says. “The circus functions like a family. We live together and work
together.”

Dilip views with dismay the recent proposal by the AWBI, a splinter organisation under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, to ban the use of all animals, including elephants, dogs, birds and horses. It will be the proverbial last straw, he says.

“Elephants are the soul of the circus,” says Dilip. He gets emotional as he remembers the tiger and 14 lions that were taken away from his circus in 1997. “They told me they were taking them to a zoo in Tirupati.  Later, when we visited the zoo, they told us all the animals had died.”

According to the guidelines, circuses were required to hire a veterinary doctor to check on the health of the animals.

“We are not against the rules. It is unfair that because of a few erring circuses, we lost our animals,” says Dilip. The big happy circus family, the cared-for animals and children, the colourful tents and the cheering crowds — that’s part of the romance and glitter of a circus that every child has grown up with. But there is a reality that cannot be overlooked, say activists.

Between November 2012 and July 2013, animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) conducted an investigation of circuses across India under AWBI’s authorisation.

“Cramped cages, the sensation of being trapped, the impossibility of forming a balanced social group or developing the wide range of behaviours typical of their species are all factors that cause suffering and make the animal’s existence especially difficult,” says Bhuvaneshwari Gupta, campaign advisor, PETA India.

In March 2013, for instance, the report says, an elephant died in transit due to the negligence of Nataraj Circus’ staff.

While circus owners mourn the move to ban animals, animal rights activists recommend “modernising and moving toward human-only performances”. The Quebec-based Cirque du Soleil functions in this way, they say.

As the debate continues, so does the struggle for survival.

The Rambo Circus troupe is currently stationed at Hubli, a city 400 kms from Bangalore. With their tent set up, they will stay there for a month. The tent accommodates an audience of 2,000 people.

The troupe comprises 100 artists and 50 others who are required to set up the tent, build the living quarters, cook and do other handy jobs around the site. Where will these people go, asks Dilip.

“Artistes mainly comprise members of the Banjara tribe who possess a particular set of skills. If the circus shuts, they will have to take up jobs as manual labour. Where else will a juggler or a clown find a job?” asks Dilip.

Ashok Shankar, a partner at Jumbo Circus that employs 300 people and is currently stationed in Mysore, believes that the government has been apathetic to their recommendations right from the early 50s.

“An artiste’s life is short. They retire at 40. The acts are physically demanding and the body isn’t able to perform with the same precision,” he says, stressing on the need for security and
compensation.

Dhotre blames the decline of the circus industry on a number of circumstances that include the lack of open public spaces in cities, rising rentals, bureaucratic permissions and a plethora of requirements that every circus must have in place before beginning a show.

“The price of the ticket is Rs50. The circus is an avenue for mass entertainment so we can’t raise the rates, though the expenses are many,” he rues.

The show must go on. But will it, with all the odds stacked against it?

In the ‘90s, India had close to 300 circuses. Today, this number has dwindled down to just about 30

Not Just India
The other countries that have banned the use of animals in circuses include Bolivia, Greece, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina.