Circus Pacifia

The Enchanted Canvas: A Boy’s Adventure at Circus Pacifica”

Denzil Jayasinghe

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Inthe early seventies, with his parents and two younger siblings, a sixteen-year-old boy was captivated beneath the expansive canvas of a circus tent in Panadura, Sri Lanka. The air was thick with the fragrance of fried dhal, a melody for the senses eclipsed only by the vibrant array of sights and sounds that enveloped him.

Circus Pacifica was a spectrum of colours, each act surpassing the one before it. Acrobats trapeze artists danced through the air, their bodies weaving and spiralling in an aerial ballet in the vaulted dome. Clowns, with their oversized shoes, painted makeup and broad smiles, tossed and bantered, drawing laughter from the audience. A collection of animals — elephants, bears, and monkeys — both exotic and familiar, paraded around the ring, their trainers leading them through impressive feats.

Yet, it was the magician who truly captivated the boy’s imagination. With a grand sweep of his cloak and a mischievous sparkle in his eye, the magician produced rabbits from hats, summoned doves from nowhere, and performed illusions that defied belief. The boy watched, spellbound, as the impossible came to life.

As the magician called for an assistant, the boy’s heart leapt. He raised his hand without thinking, but to his dismay, another was chosen. The magician wielded his wand, and the selected boy participated in acts of wonder, drawing gasps from the crowd.

The orchestra, led by trumpeters, played popular tunes, reaching a crescendo with each change of circus acts. Their cheeks puffed out as they blew into their golden-rimmed trumpets.

Athletic men, the acrobats, balanced on ropes, suspended thirty or forty feet in the air, leaping onto nets and moving between hoops high above the ground. They had no anchor for brief moments, flying between rings above the boy. A ringmaster directed every move.

Joining them were two elegant ladies, dressed in pink and white, floating between the rings under the ringmaster’s guidance.

Then, a boy a few years younger than the protagonist, dressed in blue and white, joined the acrobats. He swung between rings, high in the air, to the amazement of everyone. Then a little girl, who appeared to be the boy’s sister, joined him in the air.

Applause grew after each performance, each round louder than the previous one.

An experienced performer, older than the rest, took centre stage with a collection of sharp knives. Accompanying him was a young girl, about ten years old. He placed her on a rotating platform, blindfolded himself with a black cloth, and from ten feet away, threw the knives at the board, narrowly missing the girl. She remained still, smiling and gazing at the man. After each successful throw, the crowd erupted in applause.

As the final act ended, the boy was filled with excitement, his mind overflowing with memories of the night. The circus had turned the ordinary into the extraordinary, allowing a boy to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight, if only for a moment.

His father had said that the circus troupe had been there for over a month and would soon pack up and move to another city. But the sense of wonder it had ignited in the boy would stay with him forever. It was a reminder that magic existed, not just in the tricks and performances but in the possibilities of what could be.

And as the lights dimmed and the audience dispersed, the boy knew he would carry the circus in his heart, a beacon of joy and wonder in a sometimes-dull world.

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