Gemini Sankaran, pioneer of circus in India, dies at 99

KOZHIKODE: M V Sankaran aka Gemini Sankaran, the doyen of modern Indian circus who founded some of the country's famous circuses like Gemini and Jumbo, died following age-related ailments at a private hospital in Kannur late on Sunday night. He was 99. He had been hospitalised for the past one week.
Sankaran was born on June 13, 1924 as the fifth of the seven children of schoolteacher Kavinissery Raman Nair and Kalyani Amma near Thalassery, the cradle of Indian circus. He had occupied a ringside seat in the growth and development of Indian circus over the last seven decades, both as a performer and later as one of the most successful circus entrepreneurs in the country.

He ensured a place for the Indian circus on the world stage by modernizing the art and bringing innovative items. He had entertained dignitaries like former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, former President S Radhakrishnan, Indira Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, American civil rights activist Martin Luther King and Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda at his shows.

Sankaran's life was as eventful as the circuses he ran -- from joining the British army when he was just 18 to his performance as horizontal bar and flying trapeze circus artist to buying a small circus with his savings when he was just 27 and later building a circus empire on his own.
Sankaran was smitten by circus at 10 yrs
Sankaran was smitten by circus when he was just 10 after he watched Kittunni Circus, a one-man touring performance. He soon convinced his parents to enroll him at the circus training kalari of Keeleri Kunhikannan, a guru to countless performance artists, at Chirakkara in 1937.
He joined the military service in 1942, but opted not to continue in it after the end of World War II. He returned to Thalassery in 1946 and joined the circus and gymnastic training centre founded by Keeleri's disciple M K Raman, where he mastered the horizontal barand flying trapeze.
Sankaran joined Kolkata's Bose Lion Circus as a trapeze artist in 1948 at a monthly salary of Rs 300. He also performed in Great Rayman and Great Bombay Circus. He purchased Vijaya Circus in 1951 for Rs 6,000, which made him -along with his friend and partnerKSahadevan -the owner of two lions, an elephant and a torn two-pole tent.
Sankaran rechristened it as Gemini Circus after his birth star and over the years, he transformed it into aleading circus in the country by roping in leading performers and importing wild animals. In 1964, it became the first Indian circus to attend the International Circus Festival in the USSR. Gemini Circus was the shooting location for Raj Kapoor's 'Mera Naam Joker', besides other films.
Sankaran went on to expand his circus empire and later founded the Jumbo Circus in 1977. He had said that the fortunes of the circus industry in general started a decline from the 1990s and the decision banning the use of wild animals in circuses in 1998 dealt a big blow to the industry as wild animals were a major draw.
In his condolence message, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Sankaran was instrumental in making the Indian circus famous globally and had played a key role in the development of Indian circus.
The body was kept for public homage at Varam on Monday morning. The funeral will be held at Payyambalam on Tuesday. He is survived by children Ajay Sankar, Ashok Sankar and Renu Sankar.