Clowning ain't no tomfoolery

Being a clown is serious business, if Martin D’Souza is to be believed. The Mumbai man, who has been in the business for roughly 26 years now, asserts that a clown is the most skilled entertainer in the circus. “He knows magic, he can talk, he can juggle; knows acrobatics and unicycling — a clown can do everything. And yet, he’s an undercover person.”

It’s to showcase the talents and quirks of these entertainers that Martin has brought down nine international clowns for a ten-day long International Clown Festival, being held across India. “For the next ten days, in Inorbit Malls across Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Vadodara, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, we will be teaching people juggling and balloon sculpting all day. Post 5 pm, we will have shows on all days. Some top-of-the-line clowns are a part of this, including some from the world-famous Ringling Bros. Circus,” he says.

Martin himself will be bringing his clown avatar, Flubber, to stage on December 27, when the festival will culminate in a performance by all the guest entertainers, at St Andrews auditorium, Bandra.

Even as he rehearses for his upcoming shows, Martin declares in a quick chat that India is yet to be exposed to international standards of clowning. “We’re not exposed to the idea of clowning in India. The only type we’ve been exposed to is in circuses, performed by midgets, who slap each other. They don’t have a clown gag, skit or show,” the vice president of the World Clown Association says solemnly.

“One of the reasons clowning is looked down upon in India is because the entertainers here don’t follow the clown code of ethics, practised internationally. You need to be presentable and neat; you need to know how to deal with children, especially those who are scared. You have to stay away from children, and not scare them.”

The idea of clown schools is an alien concept in India, the home of multiple Jumbo and Gemini circus versions. Ask Martin about the importance of formal clown education and he sighs. “There are no clown colleges in India, but I personally conduct a lot of camps and activities. If you want to learn properly, you should attend one of these. Formal education in any subject  — where you learn dos and don’ts — is important.”

Martin talks about his own tryst with clown camp, with a hint of nostalgia in his voice. “I got involved with clowning back in 1990, when I would host a lot of children’s birthday parties, and someone tossed the idea of dressing up for some extra cash. I had a lot of energy, and I kept doing what I was doing without thinking about it,” he recounts. “Then in 2004, I got a scholarship to the longest running clown camp in the USA. And that’s when I realised I knew nothing about being a clown! We learnt jugglery, unicylcing, and getting our costumes and make up right, as well as building our characters.”

Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, and Mr Bean are some examples of clowns, Martin tells us. “They always got into weird situations, and came out of it with their own solutions — that’s the clown thought process. Our acts essentially revolve around finding an everyday situation and finding a comic solution to it. We make people happy because they connect with us,” he smiles. “We’re so attuned to seeing clowns only in the circus, that we don’t realise they’re present everywhere — even in schools and as moral science teachers. There are also therapeutic clowns who take care of kids in children’s homes and hospitals. You know, comedy cuts across all barriers,” Martin says with a twinkle in his eyes.

The International Clown Festival will continue till December 25, at Inorbit Malls Malad and Vashi. The Flubber and Friends Circus Show will be held at St Andrews on Dec 27, at 4 pm and 7 pm. Tickets: Rs 500 onwards.