Feb 13: The Great Royal Circus

We went to the Circus! It has been decades since either Alison or I had been to the circus so off we went. Bright posters adorn the streets announcing its presence in Margao so we diecided to give it a whirl. There were no lions, tigers, or bears (O! My)….but there was an elephant, 4 camels, a horse, dogs and birds along with many human performers.

We chose to splurge on 150 rupee “dress circle” seats to be close to the performers. The big top tent looked like ones I had remembered from childhood. There was only one ring for the performers and since there were many more seats than patrons, we were able to change

our seats as the different acts required to get the best views. The large tent was in full sun, so it was very warm inside throughout the performance. Hot and hotter. Our high-priced seats entitled us to an electric fan trained on us, but in addition there were hand fans available for sale. Of course, Alison had her own Chinese fan with her (always) so we only rented one additional. At the end of the circus we handed it to a small girl who seemed delighted.

It was a multi-national circus with performers from

Africa, China, and Russia as well as India. The first up were the numerous trapeze artists flying through the air in criss-crossing patterns from 2 platforms to 2 ‘catchers’. After they were finished their routine, the performers serially fell into the nets below to dismount, then all the safety nets were taken down and the grand parade of all the performers and animals took place.

One of the aerial acts was performed by a man and woman on two long pieces of fabric and was similar to an act we have seen at Cirque de Soleil. One difference was every time the couple was hoisted up into the air by the fabric strands it was done manually by 10 men pulling then easing the ropes, not by mechanical means.
There was a troupe of about eight African men who were expert tumblers, jugglers, and limbo dancers (under flames), but their best act was ultra-fast skipping in different positions and combinations in and out of a rope turned by two of the troupe.

There were balancing, juggling, roller skating, tumbling, trampoline, and gun shooting acts as well as clowns. Two motorbikes drove around fast in a very small sphere made of steel strips and later did some jumps from ramp to ramp into the performance ring. The group pyramids and bicycle formations were good and fun to watch.

 

 

The bird acts were interesting. I didn’t know Maccaws and Cocatiels would hang onto things and support their weight with their beaks. Upside down or rightside up, tumbling down ladders, balancing a teeter-totter, it didn’t make any difference.


Several of the 7 performing dogs seemed to be more interested in goofing off than performing which made for several frustrating moments for the handlers. But four dogs were finally lined up and rolled a barrel which contained a fifth dog.

The elephant had the obligatory beautiful woman cradled on his trunk, or on his head or back in various poses, while he walked around the ring or stood or sat on a small stand. He looked a bit forlorn, and who wouldn’t, with three performances daily? Three of the camels posed in various formations while the fourth wove in and out amongst the others at a respectable trot, soft hoofs padding the bare ground quietly.




All of the props and equipment were very old, worn, rickety, and chipped. Everything was folded manually and hand-carried into and out of the ring, or moved with hand-carts. The whole circus experience was like time traveling back 50 or more years to see something I did’t even knew still existed as I remembered it from my childhood. It was simple and naïve, and very familiar. Within a week, it will fold up and move on, a strange but established life for the human and animal performers alike.