Artists from Kenya perform acrobatic stunts. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Dec. 16: The ring of death, triple trapeze, the dare devil and many other nail-biting shows have been pulling people to the Rhino circus in the city.

It is almost after three years that the people of the Millennium City have got an opportunity to witness live entertainment. The circus from Assam has come to Cuttack for the second time.

“I have come to see a dog riding motorcycle and juggling acts by the clown,” said Seema Choudhry, a student.

“It was back in 2000 that I last visited a circus. I was a college student then. But now I have come along with my children who are keen on watching the clowns and the animals perform,” said Supriya Mohanty, a homemaker.

However, the circus industry is struggling for survival ever since the ban on the use of wild animals came to effect in 1998.

(From top) An elephant and a clown entertain the crowd with comic acts and a dog rides a motorcycle at Rhino circus in Cuttack. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

“Circus is no longer a profitable business as it has even become difficult to pay wages to the performers. There has been a sharp decline in the turnout of people to watch the shows,” said Suraj Bhuyan, the manager of Rhino circus.

According to Bhuyan, there were around 300-class one circus groups in the country during the 70s.

But due to lack of support and encouragement from the government and subsequent ban on wild animals, only 20 to 25 groups are in the business now.

Performance by tigers, lions, bear, panthers and even monkeys in circus has been banned. This has robbed the circus of its glamour with fewer people now turning up to watch the shows.

“Our circus too had lions, tigers, bear and other animals which were crowd pullers. Although we handed over the animals to various zoo authorities after the ban, we did not get compensation,” Bhuyan said.

In an effort to keep the tradition of circus alive, the focus has now shifted to acrobatics and comic items.

Besides the ring of death, triple trapeze or the dare devil show, Russian rope act, shooting, gymnastics and other acrobatics by six artists from Kenya is another attraction of the circus.

Nevertheless, wild animals were the biggest attractions and their absence has taken the sheen off circus.

“Whenever we think of circus, it is the performance by tigers, lions and bear which comes to mind. But all these have become a thing of the past in our country,” said Prabhat Das, a resident.