Opinion Express View: Gemini Shankaran’s life mapped the rise and fall of Indian circus

Life was never the same for young Moorkooth Vengakandy Shankaran after he watched a local circus troupe perform in his village in Kerala. A Class IV student at the time, Shankaran was mesmerised by the death-defying stunts and graceful acrobatics he witnessed and swore that one day he too would join the circus. It was a dream that he made true, dominating the business for seven decades. Known as “Gemini Shankaran” — after the circus he founded in 1951 — he died at the age of 99 in Kannur this week.

Born in Thalassery, the cradle of Indian circus, Shankaran was schooled in martial arts and acrobatics by legendary trainer Keeleri Kunhikannan. While he didn’t begin performing professionally till he turned 25, joining the Bose Lion Circus in Kolkata, the turning point in his career was purchasing Vijaya Circus in 1951 and renaming it Gemini. As Gemini’s star rose, it became the first Indian troupe to perform at the International Circus Festival in the USSR and featured in Raj Kapoor’s Mera Naam Joker. Shankaran set up a second circus, Jumbo, in 1977, and continued managing the business until 1999. This was the year after the government banned the use of wild animals in circuses, dealing a blow to an industry that had relied on the attractions of elephants, tigers, lions, chimpanzees, bears and even sea lions and hippopotami to draw people into the big tent.

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In many ways, the arc of Shankaran’s life — the early fascination, the heyday of touring the globe, hobnobbing with world leaders and celebrities — maps the rise of Indian circus. In this day of performance capture technology and IMAX, it can be hard to remember how magical the circus experience could be, drawing gape-jawed audiences from far and wide. In championing the art and training generations of performers, Shankaran helped make Indian circus the benchmark of entertainment it once was.