A visit to the circus

Indeed! This is no child’s essay on an entertaining day in his life.

That is party true, coz m no less (or rather no more) than a kid myself!

I’d been thinking of checking out the circus for quite some time, but for reasons that I can’t remember, I never made it there.

Until last week that is. Rambo finally beckoned, and I was only too happy to oblige.

I didn’t know circus tickets cost that much! The ones closest to the action were 250, followed by 150, 100 and 50 on the wooden stairs a distance away. However, I won’t say it’s not worth it, considering the number of people and the upkeep of the animals that form part of the troupe.

If you thought a circus was something related to animals, you could do better by changing your definition and expectation. Now that animals all around the world, including India, are scarce (the last I heard, there were less than400 lions and left in the country), obviously I didn’t harbor grandiose plans of watching docile lions being commanded by the ringmaster. The latter made a brief appearance only to play with the clowns and amuse the audience. What a disgrace!

Yet, the jugglers and acrobats were fantastic, so were the jokers. I was laughing and clapping louder than the tiny tots, and I was subjected to raised eyebrows and surprised stares by most of the audience.

(Not that that discouraged me, I was not going to let anyone or anything get in the way of my complete gratification of the unusual experience.)

So, what exactly did I see? Umm, a lot of humans, showcasing their flexibility and skill. The trapeze and hula hoop artists were the show-stealers and there were also some international performers who stunned us with their gymnastics - such impeccable nimbleness and agility! A few times, things did get repetitive – I mean, human beings can be fascinating only for so long, right? Nevertheless, they were all laudable, and their hard work was commendable. Some of them made mistakes, but their attitude and perseverance was phenomenal. A big hand for them!

Oh, and for the DJ too; he kept the music upbeat and lively. Can’t overlook his contribution to the overall atmosphere. Good work there, mate!

Non-humans… well, there were some dogs (poms doing their usual tricks), two elephants and a pony. I saw some camels tied outside, but they were not part of the show.

My rating – 8 on 10. I’m going to ding them for making the show longer than necessary, and also for the irritating number of times my view was blocked by hawkers selling popcorn, coffee, cold drinks, munchies, candy floss, and what not… Grrr… I tried to trip a couple and intimidate a few… Didn’t work, of course… A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do :-)

You know what, you ought to go and watch it, with or without the youngsters. It’s fun. Brings back memories, laughs and gawks. Brings forth heartfelt appreciation and open incredulity.

It’s currently running in Pune, behind the Deccan bus stop. They got shows at 1 pm, 4 pm and 7 pm.

Enjoy!!

Life is too short to be serious and sensible all the time… go for it… You’ll love it :-)

Cheerio!
Princess