Of bling, thing, dares and bares - the Circus is in town!

For all those who know me well will know that I have been wanting to go to the circus for a very long time. Well actually, maybe people don't really know that fact is, I really have been wanting to go to the circus for a long long time. I remember when I was in Mumbai and the Russian Circus had come to town, I pleaded with quite a few of my friends but none of the stone-hearts relented.

So imagine my joy when after 6 years from then, my phone beeps last week and the SMS simply reads "Magic Show or Circus"! Even as I write this blog right now, I am smiling ear to ear remembering how overjoyed I was that finally there was a chance to go to the circus. Doma, my maverick mad poet friend had suddenly re-appeared as the messiah of excitement; that's what I have promised myself throughout 2011. Quick recap - my new year promise to me is to be back in love with life. So well, how do I do that? By finding joy in the small things that make life so much more live-able.

So here is a quick run through of my fun day at the Circus yesterday :)

2:30pm I took an auto and went to the Lifestyle junction to meet Doma. It was a pretty pretty sunny day, not too much traffic, Bangalore felt a bit like the Old Bangalore, possibly in the same anticipation as me to re-live our old days. I see Doma sitting by his dusty, almost coming apart, kinetic Honda and I beam - Kinetic Honda ride to the circus!!!! The fun begins right here!

It was a fun fun fun ride. The Circus was at Palace Grounds (where else in this city could it be anyway). I am dramatic, we all know that so picture this - we are almost at the venue; I see Giant Wheels, 2 of them and I want to leap with joy. Of course they were adjacent to the circus venue, at Fun World (so I've already promised me my next fun experience) but they set the context to the afternoon. I could feel the excitement build up. As we reached the venue, a sea of people and dust welcomed us, just like the circus has always known to do.

I don't think I have words or even pictures to capture the moment (I forgot to take my camera). Families with little kids swarmed towards the BIG BOMBAY CIRCUS. Lots of people were queued up in front of Rs. 40, 100, 250 stalls trying to buy tickets. (Doma was well planned and had bought us tickets the day before). I had my stoll completely wrapped around my head, covering my face as I didn't want dust in my hair and on my face - really it all looked like a set from the movies. I was pleasantly surprised to see that all kinds of people (I mean including firangs) had come with their families to the circus. It was heartwarming to realize that people haven't grown out of this bit of entertainment (phew). I was happy to note that some kids even in today's day and age will grow up knowing what a Circus is like and not just see references of it on TV or on their video games.

So anyway, we walked all around (by which time my feet were completely covered in dust. Damn why didn't I wear closed shoes and I damn, I dont know why this is relevant piece of information). We went to the stall to buy water and then walked into the grand gates of the circus. I do not remember much from the last time I had visited to the circus (about 25 years ago) but as I stepped in, I was transported into a different world, a world that doesn't really exist, a world that seemed like a dream. Dreams that the regular middle class India escapes to every time the harsh reality gets a bit boring or monotonous.

The first thing that greeted us was the animal smell. Yeah its not very pleasant but its only as unpleasant as you will yourself to believe. Its from the elephants. On the left hand side, 3 some what biggish elephants were getting ready to be the stars of the show. Doma was excited to see elephants. I was just excited. We walked a bit further and saw a HUGE purple velvet banner with gold lettering :The Bombay Circus: This was going to be a glorious afternoon, I was sure of that the minute I saw the banner - there was something about the colors, the design, that was so convincing about the magnanimity of what awaited us further. It was a small walk-through to the doors and on both sides of the walkway were old pictures from 1970's of the famous Bombay Circus and even more famous personalities that had visited the circus to make it as famous. From Indira Gandhi to Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi to Lal Bahadur Shastri to Surya and even a morphed image of Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra, all these people had once visited the circus as we did now and just with that, we joined the hall of fame at the Great Bombay Circus. (even though we might never make it to the wall of fame).

And now as we entered the real venue, I am turning this into present continuous, just to be able to capture the essence.

One step inside and its a kaleidoscope personified. Vibrant green, yellow, red and orange colors make up the tent, stage and seats. It all comes rushing back - the same, identical setting. Nothing has changed. Nothing at all and I am not sure whether that's a good thing or not. I tell my mind not to be biased by existential questions for the time being and surprisingly, my mind listens to me this one time. See, that's the magic of Circus :)

So we have the VIP Rs.250 tickets, seat numbers B3 and B4 - RIGHT IN FRONT. Though I am not sure where the A row is - coz we were really right up front. As we take our seats, we hear rolling of drums and I look up to notice the Circus Band. OMG! There is the circus band too! Just like its always been. WOW! (I dont know if I am able to convey my excitement but it was really exciting). The arrangements are extremely well done and there is absolutely no chaos. Everything is being done in a very orderly manner, very pleasant execution (and now its the marketer in me talking).

At sharp 4:00pm, 3 young girls wearing the typical circus costumes (I don't know what they're called) - highly sequenced blingy swimsuit kinda outfits step into the arena. And before we realize the circus has begun, they soar into mid air and start off the show with a beautiful, breezy stunt. Its not just beautiful but elegant and joyous and highly commendable. All the 3 girls bear a smile on their face and show eagerness to wow the crowds with every move. And the crowd responds. Claps from all around fill the circus tent - the show has really begun!

Next in line is the Circus parade by all members of the circus. Bling like bling can be costumes, flags swaying, beautiful women, daring men, dwarfs, elephants, dogs, camels and horses, all come out in one grand procession to show the audience the true glory and grandiose of the Bombay Circus. A sight that I will now remember for a long time to come, a sight that stood as testimony of the belief that each member of the circus displays - how much ever the world around us might change and progress, the intrinsic in us must go on. The circus is as intrinsic in us as it is in the performers and if you don't believe me, visit the circus and tell me what you feel and think. (Hush now my ever active finding-meanings mind).

From that moment to the next 2 hours, it is circus EXACTLY the way its always meant to be. Performances after performances - jugglery, clown antics, Super krishna and the girls on cycles, Dome of Death, gymnastics, Elephant cricket, Dogs march, other names that escape my mind right now to the last Grand Finale Trapeze stunt. Words fail me here. I don't know if it was that serial long long ago on DD (SRK's 2nd TV serial) Circus or the movie Mera Naam Joker or just the fact that maybe circus is in our DNA, but whatever it is, it makes me want to jump with joy, hug the artists, get on to that net, swing in the air and be a child again. Thank you Circus for the 2 hours of joy and gasps and claps. It is indeed a beautiful experience.

And now back to past tense.

The way the young boy's body moved when he stood upside down and did a reverse split in air and the way the hoopla girl's waist swayed with grace and even seduction and the way the girls on the cycle looked happy and chirpy on their bikes (a shot from the 70's bollywood really) and the way the hunter man swung his hunter with such precision - I was amazed at the level of perfection that each showed. One of the acts was with this girl lying upside down with a high apparatus clipped to her legs - it had 10 notches and a basket on top. Her task was to bounce a ball notch by notch and take it up to eventually put it in the basket. She had to try 4-5 times to eventually get it right and I saw the entire crowd sitting on the edge of their seats, hoo-ing and haw-ing each time the ball fell. Mesmerizing. Almost like the last over of a cricket match. When she finally basket-ed the ball, there was unanimous applause - such euphoria. Amazing. Really amazing. So many more such acts clubbed with the clown trivial jokes that still looked funny and we all laughed together, made the dreamy circus a REAL experience.

The trapeze was the final act. Short but high on suspense and tension. A miss of a split second could have made the last 2 hours of joy into a feeling of remorse and no one might be more aware of that than the daring gymnasts. It was glorious watching those men fly all around. Simply awe-inspiring. And with that, the circus came to and end, but my excitement had just begun. As had my curiosity. This is when the rational mind really got very restless and urged me to put it back in its place, back to where it belongs - to the most conscious spot. And it almost came back with vengeance. So I suddenly felt the urge to go back stage or in this case, back tent, as would be appropriate usage of terminology, and check on the conditions of these fascinating people. We started moving towards the big curtain but were stopped. My bambiaya hindi came of great use here, much to our rescue. I talked "bhaiya ji" into letting us go to the forbidden land after much coercion and that was yet another world that we were transported to.

The highly talented, skilled team of the circus that shone is glitter and bling, where each member had a smile on their face and had relentlessly performed antic after antic to perfection, must really have some zeal and "balls" to put up such a fascinating show despite the below-living-condition-standards that they live in. Broken tents as their homes that we caught glimpse of was probably just the tip of the iceberg. There must be all kinds of stories, some horrid, some motivating, some depressing and yet some very inspiring that must echo from the empty holes they call homes. Maybe some day I will be able to write about that too, if I get a chance to know the circus better and more closer. Yesterday, all I caught was a glimpse before we were shoo-ed away from the "strictly no entry" area.

For now, its hats off to the circus. It was 2.5 hours that made me a child again and made me smile and clap non stop and giggle and shout, like I don't get to do very often. The other time that I was probably close to being this excited was when I had climbed a tree and listened to Indian Ocean for the first time. More on that another time. Right now, its all about the Circus. Go if you can and be a child again. We all need a dose of the Circus and the circus needs all of us to keep this fading form of entertainment alive.