JOIN USAn evening of clowning and fire-twirling by the Humanitarian Clowns was organised by the Gambolla Kids Club, Madras Bank Road recently.
The Australian artistes, who intend to promote love and laughter through compassion clowning, ensured that children had fun. For many of the kids, it was their first
encounter with clowns. While some of them were nervous about the ‘colourful creatures’, others were excited to see what they had in store for them.
The evening began with the clowns interacting with children, followed by jugglery with scarves and balls and a fire-hooping and fire-twirling act.
Performer Aimee Ingram from Australia, who was in Bangalore along with her team after performing in Vellore, said, “There’s some amount of interaction with the children, which is going to be followed by a performance. It’s the first time that we’re performing in Bangalore and we are really excited. What I sensed from the few hours that I’ve been here is that the place is very different from Chennai and Vellore. The City’s got a relaxed feel to it.”
Pointing out that the team generally works with the sick, Amiee added, “Clown doctoring can work wonders. Here in India, we have been trying to connect with the sick —
be it young or old. But this evening is different as we’ll be interacting with children. I’m looking forward to some fun times.” She added, “I’m eager to move to this country soon.”
The team comprised of Brett Smith, father-son duo Stan and Robert Lukac and Indian volunteer Santosh.
Mother-daughter duo Usha Nagaraj and Mahita Fernandez, who run Gambolla Kids Club, say that they look forward to organising fun events each month for the children. “We want children to learn something even at play. We decided to rope in the international artistes since we felt that a performance of this sort is something kids in Bangalore are not exposed to. Children always love something new and entertaining,” said Mahita.
Smita Rao, who had brought her son Idhant along said, “I feel that since the
concept of the circus isn’t popular here, this was a chance for my son to understand what clowns are about. The poster seemed fun. I hope that the event is even better.”
Smita added, “My son is a little scared of clowns because he’s not used to seeing people dressed that way.” Idhant, a class-one student added, “It’s the first time I will be seeing clowns. I am both nervous and excited.”