Yesterday was a holiday in Germany. I finished the regular household stuff of cleaning and washing and cooking and was looking for some opportunity to have a good time in the afternoon. T reminded me that he had got flyers of a circus and that we should go there to check it out. I had a talk with my friend, Yasha, and we both decided to take our kids to the circus show at 4 pm, which was very close to my house. Yasha picked us up, and we reached the circus venue in about 5 minutes. It was just 4 pm, and the show was about to begin.
We bought the tickets amounting to 16 euros each. It had a special price that day where kids and adults paid the same price. We thought it was a little pricey, but for the kids, we decided to give it a try. The tent was very small and could accommodate around 50 people to the maximum. We sat at the places assigned to us and looked around. The circus show was pretty empty. Not many people had ventured out on a cold and breezy afternoon with kids. The show started at 4 pm with an opening act of the daughter of the director, Edmund Kaiser Jr. She walked on the rope and did quite a few stunts while balancing on the line. She was very skilled, and her efforts showed in the act.
Next was the director himself, Mr. Edmund Kaiser Jr., who came with 2 horses and showed some stunts with them. The horses were tall and majestic, and they put up a good show. They bowed to the audience, they did roundabouts and also in a reverse direction. There was an act of two girls who did an outstanding item with hula hooping. They started with one ring and then went on to do it with 20 rings. The parents of the kids watching the show applauded a lot for such acts. The kids were highly amused by a joker called Bepo, who did a few tricks and made the kids laugh a lot. The animals were brought back where a small naughty pony left the audience into splits. It had a mind of their own and didn't know really care who was in front of him.
There were acts with trapeze where the girl slid beautifully up and down only with the help of her core strength and upper body strength. She seemed smooth like silk. How much practice must have gone into it, I wondered! There was also an act of balancing, where a boy played with balls first and then shifted to sticks on fire. He missed quite a few times, and it was evident on his face that he was trying his best but was not quite succeeding in it. We overlooked the tiny things and applauded him for his skill. The most dangerous and outstanding act of all was balancing chairs on the chin. First, he balanced chairs on his chin. First, it was one chair and then came 4 chairs one by one. He did it very well. Then the boy stood on the chair, which was placed on 4 glass bottles, and then one by one, his accomplice put 6 chairs on it one by one, and he balanced it by moving up to the last chair only on his hands, which was quite high up. He was balancing upside down, which looked very easy from where we were sitting. But we were all worried about thinking how it would turn to be. But he succeeded, and without any mishap or accident, he came down, and we were relieved.
The show ended at about 5:45, and we came back home in 10 minutes. The Circus Kaiser is run by the family Kaiser, who travels all around Germany, stationing in one city or town for a few weeks. I wonder how their life must be. What about the education of the kids? What about stability in life? How does it feel to be always on the move? Sometimes, they made good money and sometimes not. How do they sustain? How do they take care of the animals? All these questions were left unanswered.
Circus brought many memories back to me. As a child, I have watched quite a few circus performances. But now they have diminished from the world art platform. It costs a lot, and also the animals are kept in captivity and made to perform. There was a considerable hue and cry regarding this, and the circus slowly started making losses, and many closed down. Animals and clowns were especially a hit among kids. We laughed our hearts out, forgetting the worries of daily life. Those 2 or 3 hours were an escape into a world where everything was okay and lively and colorful. The child in me laughed and was amused by the things happening in the show, and I often looked forward to going to a circus.
After many many years, I got a chance again to relive those days.
We bought the tickets amounting to 16 euros each. It had a special price that day where kids and adults paid the same price. We thought it was a little pricey, but for the kids, we decided to give it a try. The tent was very small and could accommodate around 50 people to the maximum. We sat at the places assigned to us and looked around. The circus show was pretty empty. Not many people had ventured out on a cold and breezy afternoon with kids. The show started at 4 pm with an opening act of the daughter of the director, Edmund Kaiser Jr. She walked on the rope and did quite a few stunts while balancing on the line. She was very skilled, and her efforts showed in the act.
Next was the director himself, Mr. Edmund Kaiser Jr., who came with 2 horses and showed some stunts with them. The horses were tall and majestic, and they put up a good show. They bowed to the audience, they did roundabouts and also in a reverse direction. There was an act of two girls who did an outstanding item with hula hooping. They started with one ring and then went on to do it with 20 rings. The parents of the kids watching the show applauded a lot for such acts. The kids were highly amused by a joker called Bepo, who did a few tricks and made the kids laugh a lot. The animals were brought back where a small naughty pony left the audience into splits. It had a mind of their own and didn't know really care who was in front of him.
There were acts with trapeze where the girl slid beautifully up and down only with the help of her core strength and upper body strength. She seemed smooth like silk. How much practice must have gone into it, I wondered! There was also an act of balancing, where a boy played with balls first and then shifted to sticks on fire. He missed quite a few times, and it was evident on his face that he was trying his best but was not quite succeeding in it. We overlooked the tiny things and applauded him for his skill. The most dangerous and outstanding act of all was balancing chairs on the chin. First, he balanced chairs on his chin. First, it was one chair and then came 4 chairs one by one. He did it very well. Then the boy stood on the chair, which was placed on 4 glass bottles, and then one by one, his accomplice put 6 chairs on it one by one, and he balanced it by moving up to the last chair only on his hands, which was quite high up. He was balancing upside down, which looked very easy from where we were sitting. But we were all worried about thinking how it would turn to be. But he succeeded, and without any mishap or accident, he came down, and we were relieved.
The show ended at about 5:45, and we came back home in 10 minutes. The Circus Kaiser is run by the family Kaiser, who travels all around Germany, stationing in one city or town for a few weeks. I wonder how their life must be. What about the education of the kids? What about stability in life? How does it feel to be always on the move? Sometimes, they made good money and sometimes not. How do they sustain? How do they take care of the animals? All these questions were left unanswered.
Circus brought many memories back to me. As a child, I have watched quite a few circus performances. But now they have diminished from the world art platform. It costs a lot, and also the animals are kept in captivity and made to perform. There was a considerable hue and cry regarding this, and the circus slowly started making losses, and many closed down. Animals and clowns were especially a hit among kids. We laughed our hearts out, forgetting the worries of daily life. Those 2 or 3 hours were an escape into a world where everything was okay and lively and colorful. The child in me laughed and was amused by the things happening in the show, and I often looked forward to going to a circus.
After many many years, I got a chance again to relive those days.
Amazing how you manage to recount the acts, relate it to your experiences and articulate your thoughts on and around the topic at hand. Like I always say, keep up the good work!
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