Sujit Dilip from Maharashtra knows the game of survival in the circus industry. After all, his father managed their Rambo Circus company in the UAE, competing for audiences alongside Russian and Italian troupes—until infighting among sponsors forced them to shift base to India in the 1990s. On the phone from Mumbai, sounding a little tired and disconsolate just a week before the debut of Rambo Circus’s ‘digital show’ on September 25, Dilip rues the slings and arrows suffered by the
Indian circus industry. First the government banned the use of wild animals with no compensation to fill the gap. Then they disallowed employing individuals below 18 years—14- to 18-year-olds are most flexible for training as acrobats and trapeze artistes, says Dilip. Also, international circus performers could only visit India on an employment visa, when most overseas circus companies send their artistes on cultural visa, as they operate under their respective culture ministries.
“We are worse than farmers. We do not get any kind of loans because we are not stable; we are travelling all the time,” says Dilip. “There are just 15 to 16 circus companies left in India now, but why is the government not helping us? There are so many permissions required just to perform in the capital. No wonder I do not ever see an Indian flag in the performing arenas of international circus festivals.”
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 18, 2020 من THE WEEK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 18, 2020 من THE WEEK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
