Circus clowns touch up their make-up

Bhubaneswar, May 7: By 10 they suspected they were “different”, but by 15 they were sure.

So much so that Basant and Tulsi Nayak, the three-ft tall twins from Panpasi, Mayurbhanj, packed their bags and headed for a place where they would be at “home” and would feel less as freaks — the circus — to perform as clowns.

“Our father would tell us stories of how ‘dwarfs’ like us performed at circuses. He would also talk of all the other performers and animals,” recalled Basant. At 40, it has been more than 25 years of being a clown, at the Famous Circus. “We simply hated school and were never interested in studies. We just wanted to leave everything and join the circus,” remembers Tulsi.

Born to a family of farmers, Basant and Tulsi were the last among their four siblings. To the surprise of their parents, neither grew more than 3 feet.

“My father tried to persuade us to opt for a government job after we finished school, but again we were never really interested,” recalled Basant. Luckily, the Famous Circus troupe set up their tent in Mayurbhanj in 1985 and that changed plans a bit. After convincing their family, the twins packed their stuff and signed up for a life on the road and inside the big tent. “I remember the manager kept us on a trial basis and watched our performance for six months before he decided,” said Basant. And when he did offer the job, the twins did not hesitate. It took just 15 days for the duo to learn the tricks of the trade. “We knew that we had no other option but to give it our best shot,” said Tulsi smiling.

“I love being a clown. I enjoy the travelling and moving from town to town. I could never live in a house and work nine to five, it’s just not me,” sums up Tulsi.