The Indian Circus - Revision history

Djando: /* Keeleri Kunhikannan, The Father Of The Indian Circus */

2016-02-28T19:13:38Z

‎Keeleri Kunhikannan, The Father Of The Indian Circus

Djando: /* Keeleri Kunhikannan, The Father Of The Indian Circus */

2016-02-28T18:58:41Z

‎Keeleri Kunhikannan, The Father Of The Indian Circus

Djando: /* Suggested Reading */

2016-02-21T00:36:59Z

‎Suggested Reading

Djando: /* Keeleri Kunhikannan, The Father Of The Indian Circus */

2015-11-01T17:53:45Z

‎Keeleri Kunhikannan, The Father Of The Indian Circus

Djando at 16:46, 5 April 2014

2014-04-05T16:46:33Z

Djando: /* Image Gallery */

2014-04-05T16:44:25Z

‎Image Gallery

Djando at 18:19, 23 November 2011

2011-11-23T18:19:39Z

Djando at 18:19, 23 November 2011

2011-11-23T18:19:17Z

Djando at 18:18, 23 November 2011

2011-11-23T18:18:55Z

Djando: /* Image Gallery */

2011-11-23T18:17:44Z

‎Image Gallery

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 Thus Chatre asked Kunhikannan, who showed a keen interest in the circus, to train acrobats for his Great Indian Circus&mdash;which Kunhikannan began to do in 1888 at a ''kalari'' (Indian martial-arts facility) in the village of Pulambil. In 1901, Kunhikannan opened a bona-fide circus school in Chirakkara, a village near the city of Kollam. In 1904, one of Kunhikannan’s students, Pariyali Kannan, created his own company, the ''Grand Malabar Circus'', whose life lasted only two years.
-But this was only the first of several circuses emanating from the Chirakkara’s circus school, and soon, Kerala would be known as the Cradle of the Indian Circus. Over the years, Chirakkara's school gave birth to such companies as the Whiteway Circus (created in 1922 by Kunikhannan’s nephew, K. N. Kunhikannan), the Great Rayman Circus (created in 1924 by another disciple of Kunikhannan, Kallan Gopalan), the Great Lion Circus (also founded by K. N. Kunhikannan), the Fairy Circus, the Eastern Circus, the Oriental Circus, the Gemini Circus, and the Great Bombay Circus.
+But this was only the first of several circuses emanating from the Chirakkara’s circus school, and soon, Kerala would be known as the Cradle of the Indian Circus. Over the years, Chirakkara's school gave birth to such companies as the Whiteway Circus (created in 1922 by Kunhikannan’s nephew, K. N. Kunhikannan), the Great Rayman Circus (created in 1924 by another disciple of Kunhikannan, Kallan Gopalan), the Great Lion Circus (also founded by K. N. Kunhikannan), the Fairy Circus, the Eastern Circus, the Oriental Circus, the Gemini Circus, and the Great Bombay Circus.
 To these, one must add the Kamala Three Ring Circus of K. Damodaran, who had begun his career traveling from village to village with a small two-pole tent in the early 1930s, before ending with a giant American-style six-pole, three-ring circus, the very first&mdash;and only one&mdash;of its kind in Asia.
-The Chirakkara’s circus school didn’t train only future circus entrepreneurs: Many of Kunikhannan's pupils became circus stars in India, and sometimes internationally. The most famous of them is perhaps [[Kannan Bombayo]], the legendary ropedancer, who graduated from Kunhikannan’s school in 1910, was a star performer in the United States in the 1920s, and was subsequently featured in several major European circuses.
+The Chirakkara’s circus school didn’t train only future circus entrepreneurs: Many of Kunhikannan's pupils became circus stars in India, and sometimes internationally. The most famous of them is perhaps [[Kannan Bombayo]], the legendary ropedancer, who graduated from Kunhikannan’s school in 1910, was a star performer in the United States in the 1930s, and was subsequently featured in several major European circuses.
 After Kunhikannan’s death in 1939, one of his disciples, M. K. Raman created the Keeleri Kunhikannan Teacher Memorial Circus and Gymnastic Training Centre, still in Chirakkara, and the tradition established by Kunhikannan has continued to this day. (In 2008, the Indian government announced that a Circus Academy would be created in Thalassery in Kunhikannan’s memory.)

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 Thus Chatre asked Kunhikannan, who showed a keen interest in the circus, to train acrobats for his Great Indian Circus&mdash;which Kunhikannan began to do in 1888 at a ''kalari'' (Indian martial-arts facility) in the village of Pulambil. In 1901, Kunhikannan opened a bona-fide circus school in Chirakkara, a village near the city of Kollam. In 1904, one of Kunhikannan’s students, Pariyali Kannan, created his own company, the ''Grand Malabar Circus'', whose life lasted only two years.
-But this was only the first of several circuses emanating from the Chirakkara’s circus school, and soon, Kerala would be known as the Cradle of the Indian Circus. Over the years, Chirakkara's school gave birth to such companies as the Whiteway Circus (created in 1922 by Kunikhannan’s nephew, K. N. Kunikhannan), the Great Rayman Circus (created in 1924 by another disciple of Kunikhannan, Kallan Gopalan), the Great Lion Circus (also founded by K. N. Kunikhannan), the Fairy Circus, the Eastern Circus, the Oriental Circus, the Gemini Circus, and the Great Bombay Circus.
+But this was only the first of several circuses emanating from the Chirakkara’s circus school, and soon, Kerala would be known as the Cradle of the Indian Circus. Over the years, Chirakkara's school gave birth to such companies as the Whiteway Circus (created in 1922 by Kunikhannan’s nephew, K. N. Kunhikannan), the Great Rayman Circus (created in 1924 by another disciple of Kunikhannan, Kallan Gopalan), the Great Lion Circus (also founded by K. N. Kunhikannan), the Fairy Circus, the Eastern Circus, the Oriental Circus, the Gemini Circus, and the Great Bombay Circus.
 To these, one must add the Kamala Three Ring Circus of K. Damodaran, who had begun his career traveling from village to village with a small two-pole tent in the early 1930s, before ending with a giant American-style six-pole, three-ring circus, the very first&mdash;and only one&mdash;of its kind in Asia.

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:36, 21 February 2016
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	* Mary Ellen Mark, ''The Indian Circus'' (San Francisco, Chronicle Books, 1993) — ISBN 0-8118-0531-X		* Mary Ellen Mark, ''The Indian Circus'' (San Francisco, Chronicle Books, 1993) — ISBN 0-8118-0531-X
		+	* Sreedharan Champad, ''An Album of Indian Big Tops (History of Indian Circus)'' (Houston, Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Co., 2013) — ISBN 978-1-62212-766-5

	==Image Gallery==		==Image Gallery==

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 After Kunhikannan’s death in 1939, one of his disciples, M. K. Raman created the Keeleri Kunhikannan Teacher Memorial Circus and Gymnastic Training Centre, still in Chirakkara, and the tradition established by Kunhikannan has continued to this day. (In 2008, the Indian government announced that a Circus Academy would be created in Thalassery in Kunhikannan’s memory.)
-Today, India has twenty three active circuses, grouped in a national federation.
+===Another Era===
 ==Some of India’s Major Circuses==

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 By and large, Indian circus entrepreneurs have also maintained the belief that there are "secrets of the trade" in the training of circus acrobats and circus animals, which has certainly contributed to the dubious reputation of an industry that is often seen as marginal, and not well adapted to the modern world. Today (2010), the traditional Indian circus suffers from a sharp decline in attendance, while foreign circus companies (mostly Russian) visiting the region, or traveling with Indian circuses, still attract a large public.
-One of India’s principal circus producers, M. V. Shankaran, recently complained: "The biggest problem in our way is getting the artistes, who require constant and vigorous training from a very young age." (''Indian Express'', February 25, 2009.) This revealing comment denotes actually the true problem, which is the way Indian circus producers have approached the recruitment of their artists, and the making of their acts. The staff of any circus of importance in India includes training coaches, and the acts they create constitute a somewhat permanent repertoire, and are, by tradition, the exclusive property of the circus.
+One of India’s principal circus producers, M. V. Shankaran, recently complained: "The biggest problem in our way is getting the artistes, who require constant and vigorous training from a very young age." (''Indian Express'', February 25, 2009.) This revealing comment denotes actually the true problem&mdash;that is, the way Indian circus producers have approached the recruitment of their artists, and the making of their acts. The staff of any circus of importance in India includes training coaches, and the acts they create constitute a somewhat permanent repertoire, and are, by tradition, the exclusive property of the circus.
 Another comment that illustrates well the Indian approach to circus arts is that "Circus is widely seen as a dangerous profession. So most families, even those who find it difficult to make both ends meet, are unwilling to send their young ones to join it." (K. P. Hemraj, former director of the Amar Circus.) These comments explain perhaps why there are no true circus dynasties of performers in India: There, circus performing seems to be perceived as a refuge for society’s leftovers! In April 2011, however, the Indian Government passed a law forbidding circuses to employ children under 14 years of age, placing children performers under the same protection as in other industries.

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 File:Rambo_Circus_Equestrienne.jpeg|Rambo Circus Equestrienne (2011)
 File:Rambo_Circus_Elephant_Act.jpeg|Rambo Circus Elephant Act (2011)
 </Gallery>
 [[Category:History|Indian Circus, The]]

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 In recent years, the Indian circus has acquired a rather unsavory reputation abroad. Stories of children abducted or bought and forced into bondage, training in horrifying conditions and performing to enrich their "owner"&mdash;the circus proprietor&mdash;have surfaced in the Western press. Indeed, in a country where the level of extreme poverty is still fairly high, a few traveling circus entrepreneurs may have resorted to methods that have fortunately vanished more than a century ago in the western world.
-[[File:Rambo_Circus_(2011).jpeg|thumb|right|400px|Rambo Circus (2011)]]
+[[File:Rambo_Circus_(2011).jpeg|thumb|right|375px|Rambo Circus (2011)]]
 ===A Marginal Industry===

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:18, 23 November 2011
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	In recent years, the Indian circus has acquired a rather unsavory reputation abroad. Stories of children abducted or bought and forced into bondage, training in horrifying conditions and performing to enrich their "owner"—the circus proprietor—have surfaced in the Western press. Indeed, in a country where the level of extreme poverty is still fairly high, a few traveling circus entrepreneurs may have resorted to methods that have fortunately vanished more than a century ago in the western world.		In recent years, the Indian circus has acquired a rather unsavory reputation abroad. Stories of children abducted or bought and forced into bondage, training in horrifying conditions and performing to enrich their "owner"—the circus proprietor—have surfaced in the Western press. Indeed, in a country where the level of extreme poverty is still fairly high, a few traveling circus entrepreneurs may have resorted to methods that have fortunately vanished more than a century ago in the western world.
		+	[[File:Rambo_Circus_(2011).jpeg\|thumb\|right\|200px\|Rambo Circus (2011)]]

	===A Marginal Industry===		===A Marginal Industry===

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 <Gallery>
 File:Rambo_Circus_Management.jpeg|Rambo Circus front entrance (2011)
 File:Rambo_Circus_Equestrienne.jpeg|Rambo Circus Equestrienne (2011)