Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Entertainment | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

Fluid as the flame

Yana Guberman struggles with the laws of physics to balance 50 candles on her body and leaves ANAND SANKAR stunned and wondering if the Ukranian circus artiste has any bones in her body

PERFECT 10 The supple Yana Guberman comes from that region of the world which once produced a wonder like Nadia Comaneci PHOTO: MURALI KUMAR K.

"She is the woman with no bones!" the voice on the microphone booms as Yana Guberman steps in to perform her act at the Gemini Circus, which has pitched tent at Palace Grounds. In addition to the usual flying trapeze and the cycle-riding poodles, this time around, the circus is offering something quite exotic — circus acts from Russia and Eastern Europe. Yana is part of a contingent from that distant world.

Till now, other than on the T.V. show, Guinness Book of World Records, the most "rubber" human being I have seen is South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes. But Yana takes the notion of being flexible to an altogether different level.

Her act, called the candle balance, involves balancing an array of candles on herself by moving her body in various angles. Dressed in what resembles a belly-dancer's outfit, she steps into the circus ring and starts her act of balancing candles — which are placed on her forehead, between her fingers, toes, on her tummy and even on the soles of her feet.

Practice makes perfect

This is no ordinary circus trick. Sitting a few feet away from her, I can see every muscle in her body quiver as she struggles with the laws of physics to hold the candles steady. After all, Yana comes from the same part of the world which, not long ago, produced a wonder like Nadia Comaneci, the Romanian gymnast who, at 14, scored seven perfect 10s in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Yana is not really from Russia but close enough: Ukraine. She describes herself as not a circus artiste, but a "flying gymnast".

As I meet her after her show, the first thing that she tells me with a girlish giggle is: "I have bones!" And then she asks me something you least expect a Ukranian circus artiste to ask: "Is someone like Sting going to perform in the city anytime soon?" Quickly, Yana moves on to a bit of personal history. "I have been with the circus for the last 11 years and in India for five years. My acts are the candle balance, ring balance and roller-skating. I don't do roller skating here because Indians don't seem to skate much."

Her candle act is as exotic as the candle act. It involves floating 20 feet above the circus ring in a metal ring and contorting her body in seemingly impossible ways through that ring. All the while being held from falling to the floor only by her skill and a slim safety rope.

Yana says she began her training very early as a gymnast, as it is the tradition back home, and took to circus later because her mother, Elena Guberman, is also a circus artiste who has been performing for the 35 years. Her mother, she says, was famous for the ring balance, but now works with parrots and pigeons. Back home, Yana works with the Uzbek state circus company. "My boss asked me whether I wanted to perform in India and I took the chance. I was first at the Snow Park in Delhi, then with the Rambo Circus and now here." She goes on to add that the circus in India is very different from back home. "The presentation is different and we don't have some of the items you have here." Of course, it's unlikely they would have elephant acts in Russia.

Though she comes from a nation so different from ours, Yana says she has adapted really well and has had no problems in the country so far. "The first time I came here to Delhi, it was January, so the weather was almost like back home. That helped me settle. After that no problems at all."

A woman of few words (and those in thick Ukranian accent) Yana winds up saying it's time for the day's practice session.

You can catch Yana and 30 more acts at the Gemini Circus, which has three shows daily, till the end of this month. Each show is a little more than two hours. The entrance is after the Fun World Gate (opposite T.V. tower). Tickets available at the venue are priced at Rs. 25, 50, 100 and 150.

The charm endures

EVERGREEN For children, the clown is still very funny PHOTO: REUTERS

The circus is the last place we'd go today in search of entertainment. This is the age of shopping malls, theme parks and multiplexes, not to mention television and the Internet. If you thought so, you would be surprised by the huge crowds thronging the Gemini Circus tent at the Palace Grounds.

One of the big factors that gets people to pay to watch the circus is nostalgia. All of us, after all, at one time or the other, have heard tales of a circus or seen it on movies that has made the act iconic. Mera Naam Joker in Hindi and Apurva Sahodarargal (incidentally, shot extensively at the Gemini Circus) in Tamil are just two examples.

And what's the biggest attraction in a circus? The clown, of course. We might be a generation that looks up to comedy in sitcoms. But for children, the clown is still very funny. His outfit and the antics — the plank of wood falling on a head or sitting down when a chair isn't there — still gets the kids rolling with laughter.

Another act that never fails to grab attention is the flying trapeze. Though the safety net is pretty much mandatory now, it still takes quite a lot of skill and years of practice to get this act right.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail