“The show must go on!” Even after the death of his mother, Raju of ‘Mera Naam Joker’ gave the audience a smile after suppressing all his personal loss. Because, no matter what happens in life, the show never stops. Rabiul Haque, owner of Ajanta Circus in Kolkata, said, “Raj Kapoor said in the film, ‘Show must go on.’ We are exactly following the same thing. No matter what adversity comes, our show will continue.” Although not as crowded as before, many people are still coming to watch the circus shows. Starting from December-end, the circus will run until mid-February. In today’s generation, very few are interested in watching the circus, owing to a vast array of options for entertainment. The group of young men and women who have been waiting all year to see the popular circus shows has grown old today.
Circus has been a part of Bengalis’ entertainment since the late nineteenth century. One after another European circus show was held in the heart of erstwhile Calcutta to entertain the British officials. It featured the joker’s tricks, the adventurous game of trapeze, walking on the ropes, and the thrilling, daring game with animals that could easily hold the spectators in awe for three to four hours.
In the last two years, the Covid-19 pandemic has changed almost every aspect of life. The circus players were not left out of it either. After a long gap of two years, they were expecting to return to their old profession once more, hoping to begin 2022 on a positive note. Ajanta Circus at Sinthi in Kolkata was prepared to do something big. Everything was going well. But the problem came in the beginning of 2022. Due to Omicron variant of Covid-19, strict restrictions were re-introduced in West Bengal. According to an official of Ajanta Circus, the circus initially suffered for various wildlife-related restrictions. Now, there are only some macaws and dogs in the circus. There are no foreign gymnasts. The main attraction is the Manipur gymnast and acrobat flight, with a variety of balance games. These are not enough to attract the new generation.
Many of the circus players left their jobs to choose toto or rickshaw driving or farming. The Ajanta circus has been trying to entertain the audience for the last 50 years. The circus tent can accommodate 2,000 people. Although it was told to do a show with 50 per cent spectators, the number of visitors throughout the day is only ten to twelve, with a maximum of 50. Many times, tickets are not even sold throughout the day. Ajanta circus has done back to back shows even though it had few spectators. Due to the pandemic-induced lockdown, the circus’ miserable condition continues. However, the circus has returned to the City of Joy after two years. It had long lost its popularity, but never as much as during the pandemic years.
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