Will lack of animal performers sound the death knell for circus?

The tents are yet to be put up on grounds across Kolkata, but a storm is already on its way. What with the Centre proposing a ban on “animal performers”, circuses — dealing with their diminishing popularity in the face of competition from other entertainment mediums and the dying trade of human performers like trapeze artistes, clowns, knife throwers and contortionists — may hit an all-time low in business. Several circuses confirmed that they are not in a position to count further losses and some may have to shut shop in years to come. Zainal Haque from Ajanta Circus said they are not sure what to do with their dogs, Australian macaw and cockatoo. “After the big cat ban years back, hell was raised over the performance of elephants. Around three years back, we stopped that. Though we have not received any such directive that bans animal performers, we don’t know how to cope with this,” he said. The circus is stressing on gymnastics this year as that may well be the way forward. “We may bring artistes from Russia, Ukraine, Mongolia, Vietnam or Uzbekistan. The decision will be taken shortly. Meanwhile, we begin our circus from December 7 this year,” he said.
Subir Srivastava, who was earlier with Famous Circus and now works with Ajanta Circus, said he was aghast to learn about the news. “Why don’t they ban circus entirely? The way things are going, very soon, children will be reading about us in history books. With no animal performers, what attraction will be left there for children? There’s no public interest in this medium of entertainment and already circus groups are closing down. Olympic Circus has closed down and so have Western Circus and Samrat. This proposal may sound the death knell.” Sajal Mukherjee of Famous Circus said they have not heard of any such proposal. “We were told that we could show performances of domestic animals. We have horses, dogs and birds. So, we’ll go as per our schedule,” he said.

Molla Sadek Rohman, who has worked as a manager with several circuses like Nataraj, Kohinoor, Famous, Renu and others, said things were a lot different when he started out in 1988. “Back then, tigers and bears would draw the crowds. People would come from far and still not get tickets and neighbourhoods would know a circus had come from the roar of a tiger. Since then, at least 45 circuses have closed down in Bengal as people don’t get entertained anymore. They have their mobiles and TVs and circuses have not managed to offer anything unseen. They are currently carrying on with African and Russian artistes, but that too is not a big draw,” he said, adding that each show costs anywhere between `20,000-`50,000, but recovery is an uphill task.
Even though implementation of the proposal is likely to take around 30 days, circus coordinator R Rajen said he is hopeful that the stakeholders’ opinions are taken into account. “We have not received any directive as yet. It’s very confusing since no circus in Kolkata shows performances by elephants,” he said.
Magician PC Sorcar Jr said the proposal is a welcome move. “Long back, I had a lion, which was born in captivity. It would have died had it been sent into the wilds. I had built a giant enclosure for it and even Maneka Gandhi was aware of it. It died several years ago. Personally, I am against the usage of the word ‘pet’. I can become a foster father of an animal, but not its owner. Quite a few years ago in London, a show of mine was disrupted, as it had a bird. Since then, I have never used any animal during a show as I realised that confinement can be a traumatic experience for animals. I also urge my fellow magicians not to use animals during performances,” he said.

When implemented, there will be no hippos, horses, elephants or dogs in circuses. Dog trainer Jayashree Ram Mohan said it’s important to know if animals were ill-treated in circus. “Abroad, they have something called agility training that helps dogs stay in good health. I am personally not against any performance, but if an animal is harmed while doing so, then that’s a cause of concern. If animal performances are banned, then one must look into dog shows et al. I have seen elephants being poked at. Zoo visitors often poke at lions or tigers to get reaction. All that should stop. Authorities should look for evidences of cruelty to animals before banning performances,” she reasoned.
Nilanjanaa Sengupta, mother of two, said she had been to a circus years back, but never repeated the act again. “I felt there was cruelty to animals. That’s why I never encouraged my children to visit a circus,” she said. Actor Jayjit Banerjee, who took his son, Jashojeet, to a circus in Moscow last year, said they stood witness to several animal performances. “They have an indoor stadium where circus takes place all year. It was an experience of a lifetime as I saw performances by several animals, including tigers and horses. I didn’t feel the animals were treated cruelly. In India too, one should first find out if there has been any cruelty to animals before taking such a big decision,” he said.
Circus on the small and big screens
Circus (1928)
A silent film, written and directed by Charlie Chaplin, it is about Chaplin’s Little Tramp finding work and the girl of his dreams at a circus
Dumbo (1941)
An American animated film, it’s about an elephant who gets ridiculed for his enormous ears. A mouse comes to his aid and helps him realise
his potential
Mera Naam Joker (1970)
A cult film by Raj Kapoor, it’s about a clown, Raju, who must put up a smile even in the face of a crisis as his manager says, ‘The show must go on.’
Circus (1989)
This television series by Aziz Mirza was set in a circus troupe and starred Shah Rukh Khan and Ashutosh Gowarikar in key roles
Chotoder Chobi (2015)
Directed by Kaushik Ganguly, it gives us a peek into the lives of dwarves, who work as jokers in circus