Mumbai: COVID cuts Rambo circus’ spectators to just a few from hundreds

Rambo circus which once used to have houseful shows is struggling to survive amid the COVID pandemic with earnings having tricked down to R15000R20000 per show with hardly a few visitors During the weekdays they are performing for an audience of just one or two Added to this is the recent increase in the cost of diesel cooking gas and power giving the proprietor a tough timeWith his entire family infected by COVID a few months ago the proprietor was unable to pay the staff regularly A Russian company that was to invest in special shows stepped back amid the pandemicRambo circus had asked for financial assistance after the COVID19 lockdown hitThe circus has been operating in Oshiwara Andheri for three weeks ldquoWe have reduced our seating capacity from 1800 to 300 amid COVID Shows have been reduced to two during weekdays and three over weekends But the audience numbers have not crossed 60 On Day 1 of our show in Oshiwara we were in tears as only two people were present The team performed the entire show of two hoursrdquo said Sujit Dilip proprietor of the circus who is shuttling between Pune where his parents are and Mumbai ldquoThe show must go on The entire troupe 70 staffers and 17 dogs will survive only if the show goes on Hit hard by COVID it will take us a long time to bounce backrdquo Sujit saidLockdown a challengeA major part of the daily expenses amount to R25000 is used to get potable water diesel for the generator foodgrains etcBiju PushkaranldquoWhen all income stopped I sold my property in Pune to pay salaries repay vendors and meet expenses I have borrowed nearly R1 crore to meet expensesrdquo Sujit saidMustaq Qureshi alias Munna bhai from Pune resumed selling packed snacks and cold drinks inside Rambo circus ldquoI used to supply meat for wild animals in the circus After their use was banned I started a canteen With COVID that too ended The low number of visitors has compelled me to buy snacks from outside and sell them inside Despite taking precautions and maintaining hygiene people are reluctant to eat at the circus I cannot even think of setting up my own kitchen fearing the lossesrdquo Qureshi saidNo selfiesCOVID restrictions mean attendees cannot take selfies with the seniormost clown of the circus Biju Pushkaran 51 who joined the circus 25 years ago He hails Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram district of KeralaldquoIt hurts me that today there are no people in the audience I cannot even take selfies with those who comerdquo said Biju He added ldquoOur owner is in a crisis and we arenrsquot getting paid either My two children live with my inlaws I havenrsquot met them in two years I could not even buy them a laptop for their online classrdquo ldquoIt is only because of our dedication and hard work that even during the lockdown we continued daily practice and physical exercises that kept our immunity high Not a single employee got COVID19rdquo Biju saidSisters Roshni and Geeta from Assam perform gymnastic stunts While Roshni married a colleague from the circus Geeta lives with her one child in the circus camp while the other child lives with her husband in Kolkata They said ldquoWe have been practising daily but unfortunately when we come on stage to perform seeing just a few people in the audience we get upset Our children are small and havenrsquot started going to school yet but we want them to get a good educationrdquoNo bank loansSujit has written to the Prime Minister and Finance Minister seeking their intervention for a loan from any nationalised or private bank since they do not provide loans to circuses but has not received any response so farHistory of the circusRambo circus was founded on January 26 1991 with the merging of Arena Circus Victoria Circus and Great Oriental Circus Rambo Circus has performed internationally especially in the Gulf