MichaelWhite3 at 18:09, 22 February 2025

2025-02-22T18:09:11Z

New page

{{Part of History of India}}
Although street performances similar to circuses have existed in India since ancient times, a circus similar to the one described by [[Philip Astley]], known as the father of the modern [[circus]], as described in 1770, only existed in India in the 1880s.

== Birth of modern Indian circus ==
In 1879, the [[Chiarini's Royal Italian Circus|Royal Italian Circus]] by [[Signor Giuseppe Chiarini|Giuseppe Chiarini]] toured India. Before all his shows started, he would tell the audience that India did not have a proper circus and would have to wait many more years to develop one. In addition, he offered "a thousand British Indian rupees and a horse" as a gift to anyone who could repeat his daring stage effects within six months.<ref name="HT">{{cite web|date=17 November 2018|title=Mumbaiwale: How India's circus acts took to the stage|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/mumbaiwale-how-india-s-circus-acts-took-to-the-stage/story-izsUr9buhFGKurzzPV6mEK.html|website=Hindustan Times|language=en}}</ref>

When Chiraini's show was going on in [[Mumbai|Bombay]], Balasahib Patwardhan, the king of the [[Kurundwad]] princely state of [[Sangli district|Sangli]] (today’s [[Kolhapur]]) also came to see it. Balasahib was accompanied by [[Vishnupant Moreshwar Chhatre|Vishnupant Chhatre]], the keeper of his stable and riding master at the stables. Chhatre also had some experience with teaching horses. Accepting the challenge, Chhatre announced that he would perform the same in Kurundwad within three months. Failing that, he promised Chiarini that he would return "ten thousand British Indian rupees and the top ten horses."<ref name="HT" /> On March 20, 1880, Chhatre came to perform his circus at the Kurundwad Palace Grounds, but Chiarini, worried about not having the money to go back after his performance in [[Kolkata]], did not come to see it.<ref name="HT" />

Vishnupant Chhatre bought most of the circus equipment from Chiarini.<ref name="Mathrubhumi">{{cite web|title=ഗ്രേറ്റ് ഇന്ത്യന്‍ സര്‍ക്കസ്, ജംബോ സര്‍ക്കസ്.. അറിയാം സര്‍ക്കസ്സിന്റെ കഥ|url=https://www.mathrubhumi.com/kids/features/story-of-circus-1.4539200|website=Mathrubhumi|language=en|access-date=2020-10-22|archive-date=2020-10-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024014534/https://www.mathrubhumi.com/kids/features/story-of-circus-1.4539200|url-status=dead}}</ref> Within a year, he formed the first circus company in India, the '''Great Indian Circus'''.<ref name="Mathrubhumi" /> Chhatre's Great Indian Circus toured locally in India (including the same venue where the Chiarini's performance was held in Bombay) and internationally in locales such as [[Sri Lanka]], [[Singapore]], [[Kuala Lumpur]], [[Jakarta]] and [[Japan]]. He eventually merged his circus company with his cousin's to form a new company called the Karlekar Grand Circus. The Karlekar Grand Circus lasted until 1935.

== Pre-independence period ==
Inspired by Chiarini's circus at [[Kolkata]], in 1887 [[Priyanath Bose]] from Bengal founded the Great Bengal Circus and toured Bengal, India and South East Asia.<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 16, 2014|first=Nandini|last=Sengupta|title=Swadeshi girls in the ring|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/deep-focus/Swadeshi-girls-in-the-ring/articleshow/45163801.cms|access-date=2020-10-23|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref>

The first circus company in [[Kerala]] State, Malabar Grand Circus, was inaugurated at [[Chirakkara]] on February 2, 1904 under the leadership of Pariyali Kannan, a student of [[Keeleri Kunhikannan|Keeleri Kunjikannan]].<ref name="aum" /> The company only operated for two years.

Great Royal Circus is claimed to have started in 1909.<ref name="aum" /> Its previous name was Madhuskar's Circus. Later, animal trainer Narayan Rao Walawalker took over the circus and renamed it to The Great Royal.

In the year 1920, Baburao Kadam founded the Grand Bombay Circus. In 1922, Keeleri's nephew K.M.Kunhikannan started the Whiteway Circus. He later founded Hind Lion circus as well. In 1947, these three circuses were merged to form Great Bombay Circus.<ref name="aum" />

In 1924, another student of Keeleri, Kallan Gopalan, started the Great Rayman Circus.<ref name="aum" />

[[Vijaya Circus]] was owned by [[R. V. Mamoo]] of Akola, Maharashtra and had only a two-pole tent, two lions, one elephant, and the other essential equipment. [[Mamoo]] sold it to [[Gemini Sankaran|M. V. Shankaran]] in 1951 for Rs. 5000. [[Shankaran]] renamed this circus to [[Gemini Circus]]. (See: Champad, Sreedharan. 2013. An Album of Indian Big Tops (History of Indian Circus), Houston: Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Co., p. 64 and 66).<ref name="foo-bar">content</ref>

== History of circus academy in India ==
In 1888, Chatre's Great Indian Circus toured [[Thalassery]], [[Kannur district|Kannur]], Kerala. It was in Thalassery that Chatre met [[Kalaripayattu]] (a type of traditional marshal art) and gymnastic trainer [[Keeleri Kunhikannan]]. An agreement was signed between Keeleri Kunhikannan and Chatre, according to that Keeleri Kunhikannan agreed to train the trainees for the circus and Chatre agreed to employ them.<ref name="aum">{{cite web|title=:: Welcome to aum9.com ::|url=http://aum9.com/Indian_Circus.html|website=aum9.com}}</ref> For this, Keeleri started a new circus school at Chirappuram near Thalassery, Kannur.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Nainar|first=Nahla|date=2019-08-09|title=The life and times of a veteran circus performer and trainer E Ravindran Kodambavu|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/art/the-life-and-times-of-a-veteran-circus-performer-and-trainer-e-ravindran-kodambavu/article28946195.ece|access-date=2020-10-22|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> The name of his institute was ''All India Circus Training Hall''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Champad|first=Sreedharan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KTwNAgAAQBAJ&q=Avuda+Bai+Parulelkar&pg=PA5|title=An Album of Indian Big Tops: (History of Indian Circus)|date=September 2013|publisher=Strategic Book Publishing|isbn=978-1-62212-766-5|language=en}}</ref> In 1901, the [[Government of Kerala]] started a Circus Academy in Thalassery, Kannur. It was the first government circus academy in the country.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2016-10-22|title=A fine balance|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/A-fine-balance/article15634141.ece|access-date=2020-10-22|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

After Kunhikannan’s death in 1939, one of his student M. K. Raman started ''Keeleri Kunhikannan Teacher Memorial Circus & Gymnastic Training Centre'' in [[Chirakkara]].<ref name=":0" />

==See also==
*[[Sreedharan Champad]], author of ''An Album of Indian Big Tops: (History of Indian Circus)''
*[[Gemini Shankaran]],was an Indian circus owner, businessperson and one of the pioneers of the circus industry in India. Sankaran was a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the [[Government of India]].

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Circuses]]
[[Category:Cultural history of India]]

History of Indian circus - Revision history

MichaelWhite3 at 18:09, 22 February 2025