Locals help troupe get through tough Covid-19 lockdown months

The gates are padlocked, the once vibrant striped yellow and blue big top is faded and sagging and the carousel with its dancing horses has long stopped. It’s the quiet of the lockdown but somewhere in the forlorn Rambo Circus camp the cheer still echoes.

The circus came to town in February to entertain the people of Navi Mumbai’s Airoli locality and is now indebted to them for helping out in these months of crisis when the lockdown stalled the fun and games, said Rambo Circus manager Biju Nair.

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The nationwide lockdown to curtail the spread of Covid-19 started on March 25, but the show had stopped even before that with fear of the disease keeping audiences away.

Four months on, Nair said he can’t thank the locals enough. When he came and set up camp in Airoli with his 90-member troupe, including artistes and circus technicians, 14 canines and one pony, they didn’t know anyone.

And now, they do.

In fact, his team has been surviving thanks to the magnanimity of the locals, Nair told PTI.

Some vendors ensured a steady supply of fresh vegetables through the hot summer months and there were others who helped with rations. Among those who have helped them survive these long months has been NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal who contributed towards their food supplies, Nair said.

They had managed only four shows before they had to shut down. The peak holiday season when schools are closed for summer came and went and the troupe, used to shifting base every few months, stayed put, right where they had been since February.

They spend their days in their tents, huddled around a television set, on their mobile phones or cooking meals on stoves. Outside, the grass is overgrown, a lifesize rhino model and some ducks serve as a reminder of the circus buzz and the chairs are stacked up, waiting for audiences to stream back in.

Though the team is used to staying in tents, Cyclone Nisarga earlier this month left a trail of destruction, compounding their many problems.

“There was no loss of life but the cyclone damaged a generator and a few air conditioning units,” Nair said, adding that repairing the damage is a huge challenge with no money coming in and no immediate prospect of performances resuming.

All the while, Covid-19 cases continue to rise. There has been a spurt in cases in Airoli and Nair said he has to take special efforts to ensure the staff stays within the confines of the camp without mingling with outsiders.

From 300 circus companies a few decades ago, barely 10 or 11 survive, say industry insiders.

Full of gratitude to the locals who made his troupe their own and reached out to help them survive these difficult months, Nair has made them a solemn promise -- a free show on the other side of the lockdown.

But when will that be?