Manamadurai circus artistes stranded in Panaiyur

11/04/2020, P.A. NARAYANI,MADURAI

Trapped: These circus artistes from Manamadurai are stuck in Panaiyur near Madurai because of the lockdown. G. Moorthy

For artistes of Kamala Circus, hailing from Manamadurai in Sivaganga district, summer is the time when they perform at many villages and earn a decent amount. They travel throughout Madurai, Sivaganga and Virudhunagar districts and conduct shows in villages. “Since we work only around eight months in a year, the money we earn during this period will see us through the rest of the year,” says R. Pandian, an artiste.

However, this summer has turned out to be a disaster for them. The last show they performed this summer was at Panaiyur near Madurai, on the day before the announcement of the nation-wide lockdown due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. Since then the 10 artistes and their children have been stranded, staying inside tents at Panaiyur village, as they cannot go home. The cancellation of shows has affected their very means of livelihood.

These 10 artistes belong to around 500 families in four villages near Manamadurai - all circus artistes for generations. They go in groups, pitch camp in a village, perform there for a few days before returning to Manamadurai.

The 10 artistes stranded in Panaiyur had performed in Tirumangalam earlier. V. Ramu, an artiste, says the Panaiyur panchayat president and the villagers have been giving them rice, vegetables and other essential commodities. They use firewood for cooking.

“While we’ve been taken care of here, it is disheartening to hear from our families back home that they are running out of groceries. My mother, wife and I are circus artistes and send money to my three brothers and their families in Manamadurai. Now that we earn nothing after the lockdown, they are struggling to make both ends meet,” Mr. Ramu says.

Many of the artistes are worried about how they would repay loans they availed from money-lenders. “Also, it costs a huge sum to transport all the circus equipment back to Manamadurai by lorry. With no income, we do not know how we are going to reach home,” he says.

Additional Director of Panchayat A. Chelladurai says the district administration has been providing essential commodities to them. “We will also facilitate their transport, along with their circus equipment after the lockdown,” he says.