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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Thrills, roars and cheers under a giant marquee

Rambo Circus pitches a tent in MMR Mumbai : Mumbaikars are thronging to rediscover the joys of stunning, live entertainment as the familiar Rambo Circus has pitched a tent in Borivali West, before it shifts to Navi Mumbai from December 2.   This is billed as the first major full-scale season post-Covid-19 pandemic, which had led to a near washout of shows owing to social-distancing norms and public fears. The tent is now attracting a strong public response, said Rambo Circus Director and...

Thrills, roars and cheers under a giant marquee

Rambo Circus pitches a tent in MMR Mumbai : Mumbaikars are thronging to rediscover the joys of stunning, live entertainment as the familiar Rambo Circus has pitched a tent in Borivali West, before it shifts to Navi Mumbai from December 2.   This is billed as the first major full-scale season post-Covid-19 pandemic, which had led to a near washout of shows owing to social-distancing norms and public fears. The tent is now attracting a strong public response, said Rambo Circus Director and owner Sujit Dilip.   “We get good crowds on weekends and holidays, but weekdays are still a struggle. Our fixed expenses are around Rs. One Crore per month. Costs have gone up nearly ten times on all fronts in the last five years, and the 18% GST is killing. We manage around 1,500 shows annually, but barely break even, with wafer-thin margins,” said Dilip, 50.   The logistics alone are staggering. Rambo Circus travels across India with an 80-member troupe of acrobats, aerialists, sword balancers, jugglers, jokers, rigging crews, support staff, massive equipment, and a few mechanical animals.   “Many of my people have spent their entire lives under the tent. We live like a huge family. I try to support their children’s education, medical needs and help them build some financial stability. But without resources, it is becoming increasingly difficult,” said Dilip, his voice weary after decades of struggle for survival.   He reminisced of the golden era of Indian circus, around the second half of the last century, when there were many grand, full-scale circuses, but today barely half a dozen professional setups remain - Gemini, Golden, Ajanta, Asian, Great Bombay, and Rambo - along with a few smaller, local outfits.   “Unlike most countries where circuses come under the Cultural Ministry, India offers no institutional identity or support. I am invited as a jury member to several top annual international circus festivals. I feel sad as not a single Indian artist features on global stages. We just have no backing here,” Dilip told The Perfect Voice in a free-wheeling chat.   He said the decline accelerated after the ban on live animal performances nearly 20 years ago in India. In contrast, many foreign circuses still feature elephants, horses, bears, zebras, llamas, tigers, leopards, lions, and exotic birds - though most face heavy resistance from animal-rights groups.   “Moreover, ticket rates in India are among the lowest in the world, without tax concessions. In foreign circuses, even in smaller countries, tickets start at Rs 10,000 per head. We can’t dare match that…” he rued.   Yet, the thirst to lure audiences remains undiminished. Rambo Circus now leans on technology and innovation, featuring a mechanical elephant, a giraffe on stilts, stuffed zebras, deer, bears and horses, and has commissioned a Japanese company to design a robotic lion to perform tricks.   To make the shows more interactive, MoC – a tall senior joker – invites the young audience members into the ring to try small acts like skipping, jumping, or dancing with help from the midget clowns, and the kids’ shrieks of joy echo through the tent, as their parents furiously click videos and selfies.   Dilip recalled that during the pandemic lockdown, when survival seemed impossible, Rambo Circus pioneered online ticketed shows, selling nearly 50,000 virtual tickets - the highest among circuses worldwide at that time, and earned praise by international peers.   “We are swimming alone… For us, it’s not just entertainment. It is art, heritage, livelihood, identity, and passion - and we will fight for a dignified existence,” Dilip said quietly.   Rambo Circus’ emotional tug at PM’s heart Rambo Circus Director and owner Sujit Dilip appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help save this art form with a huge potential to generate jobs, discover talents, earn massive revenues and foreign exchange.   “We urge the PM and ICCR to give Indian circuses a formal status, affordable venues for our shows, extend bank loans, opportunities for skill-upgradation, foreign collaborations and inclusion under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs’ CSR list. Many corporates wish to help, but current rules prevent it,” Dilip told The Perfect Voice .   He recalled how, during Covid-19, Rambo Circus launched online shows and sold nearly 50,000 tickets, proving the potential of Indian circus talent and earning acclaim worldwide for his innovation. “Our dream is to make India’s circuses world-class, and we need government support to achieve this,” he said.   History of circuses – Roman Arenas to open maidans The name ‘circus’ had its origins in ancient Rome, where chariot races, gladiator clashes, displays/deadly fights between wild animals and condemned humans enraptured audiences in huge open arenas. Later, circuses began modestly in 1768 with horse tricks performed by Philip Astley, a London cavalryman. Then, came the modern version of live performances by horses/ponies in the US in 1793, and in the 1830s, wild animals were introduced.   Many Hollywood films featured circuses as the backdrop. The most memorable ones are: Charlie Chaplin’s “The Circus” (1928); Walt Disney’s “Dumbo’ (1941); Cecile B. DeMille’s 2 Oscar Award-winning “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952); biopic on P.T. Barnum “The Greatest Showman” (2017), et al.   Bollywood’s own legendary ringside acts were in films like Raj Kapoor’s “Mera Naam Joker” (1970); “Chandralekha” (1948); “Appu Raja” (1989); “Circus Queen” (1959); “Shikari” (1991); “Dhoom 3” (2013); and the howlarious circus climax in Firoz A. Nadiadwala’s “Phir Hera Pheri” (2006), etc.

Mission to uplift the tribals

Having started  the first English school in Walvanda village, Savali Charitable Trust aims to bring tribals at par with all

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Mumbai: Having worked for the cause of upliftment of the tribals residing in the remote villages around Jawhar in Palghar district of Maharashtra for years, Savali Charitable Trust has now started an English medium school in a remote village called Walvanda, with the sole aim of providing equal opportunities to the tribals who are convinced by the power of education, but suffer lack guidance and infrastructure.


While Savali has been working in the tribal belt in Palghar since 2007 through scores of initiatives from nutrition program, to medical and health care initiatives to guiding the tribals on how to generate employment opportunities, the idea of starting Savali English School was suggested by local tribal families who have since long benefited by the initiatives of the Savali.


Speaking to ‘The Perfect Voice’, Madhavi Deodhar who conducted adult education program in Walvanda and wife of Savali’s founder Vinayak Deodhar said, “The inspiration came from the locals who were convinced by the need to have education in English. However, our initiative of conducting adult education also helped us to get a positive response. Women attended the education program in huge numbers. Fortunately, men did not oppose.”


While Madhavi Deodhar patiently decided to educate the tribal residents on a basic level to make them self-reliant enough to be able to at least read and understand the documents they were blindly signing, her effort got tremendous response with most of the residents understanding the power of education.


Less infrastructure

There are few schools in Jawhar and Vikramgad area. However, they are very far and lack basic infrastructure and good teachers. Private schools in the area are expensive and unaffordable to the tribals. “A local tribal Suresh Nikule who helped us with land for our medical centre, urged us to build an English school and gave us his support. To our fortune, our 17 years of trust helped us gain support both from local govt authorities and local residents. We engaged teachers from Virar, Vasai area. We have also arranged a van with a driver for commuting”, said Manoj Borkar who has taken full charge of the school.


Borkar who is a Chartered Accountant and has been a Trustee after quitting a leadership role in the corporate world. The school spanned across 12,000 sq.ft which was started in June 2025, includes 24 classrooms, catering to students from kindergarten to grade 10 with class sizes capped at 35 to ensure attention to each child.


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Vinayak Deodhar, a practicing Chartered Accountant and resident of Mumbai’s Vile Parle who established Savali in 2007, said, “What will the tribals do after they graduate from a normal school? We need to educate them so that they are truly independent. Hence, we have planned to include subjects that cover introduction to basic technology, like animal husbandry, electric engineering, technical training, agricultural training and home science. Our school will be unique in this area.”


Health care

Savali’s work in the tribal belt began with health care services and soon evolved into a full-fledged day care centre and 3 mobile medical vans with comprehensive facilities including pathology, digital x-ray, opthal to name a few, reaching nearly 200,000 tribal residents of 164 villages. Palghar district where Savali works is known for widespread malnutrition due to extreme poverty, lack of clean water, irregular electricity supply and poor transport facilities. For the last 9 years, Savali has supported 800 students in 27 govt schools with nutritional supplements and medication.


Vinayak Deodhar said, “Government has already initiated plans on all that we are doing. If the execution happens, we won’t need to do anything. While some resisted, there were several helpful officers who allowed us to continue, because the locals trusted us.”


Trust, the key

When it comes to tribal areas, the biggest challenge is trust. Typically, tribal residents do not trust anyone out of fear of being duped of their lands. Savalee believed that action cultivates trust not promises. “Walvanda village is blessed with rainfall. However, the houses are built on hills and water doesn’t reach them. There is no electricity supply. Women who were nine months pregnant walked long stretches to fetch a pot full of water. We first involved experts and ensured that in 37 villages women received tap water in their homes, and electricity supply was established through solar panels in 30 schools to get E-Learning education. That helped win their trust.”


Savali has also encouraged cultural events and celebrated Dahi Handi, Holi, Diwali. Deodhar said, “It’s very important to not impose any religion on them. They have long been victims of being helped in exchange for religious conversions. They are fed up with that. We celebrate cultural events and turn them into an earning also for them.For example, Mogra cultivation is ample in the area. We train them with the help of vendors in Mumbai to get them good return for their produce as they cultivate around 3.5 tonne mogara and earn rupees 2.5 crore every year.”


Vinayak Deodhar explained that their expenses are much higher than what they get, and most of their initiatives are funded through donations and some from their own pockets. The idea of the Deodhars is to give what they have earned so far to the society in whatever way they can.


(The trust can be reached out on savalitrust07@gmail.com and 9820223797).

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