‘Manna’ in the Heart of the Circus

On February 23, as Manna K. Abraham turns seventy, it is impossible not to reflect on a life that defied convention, geography and expectation. Teacher, counsellor, mother, traveller, survivor — and for eight unforgettable years, the sole educator in “The Greatest Show on Earth” — Manna’s story is not merely about a circus. It is about courage, reinvention and the quiet magic of choosing one’s own path.

Her memoir, Heart of the Circus, chronicles an extraordinary chapter of her life inside the legendary Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus. But more than that, it is the story of a woman who refused to remain confined by circumstance and instead stepped into the vast, unpredictable arena of the world. Here, Nadira Cotticollan presents a glimpse of her life and her book in a heartfelt birthday salutation.

Years ago I had got a copy of the book Totto Chan written by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, a famous TV personality of Japan in which she had written about the earliest part of her education in an unusual school run by a unique teacher. The school had old unused railway coaches for classrooms.

Tetsuko gave credit to this wonderful teacher and his out-of-the-ordinary manner of teaching for the way her personality had been moulded and which, she claims, was responsible for the success that she achieved later on in life.

Now here is another scenario.

Imagine a classroom inside the arena of a big circus that keeps travelling for its shows, across the length and breadth of the United States.

Imagine a whole exclusive train, about one and a half mile long, moving the men, material and animals from one destination to another.

Imagine being the sole teacher in charge of a group of students ranging from tiny tots to 16–17 year olds, because the laws in place in that country strictly demanded that anyone under the age of eighteen in a circus troupe would have to spend at least three hours every day being schooled.

Imagine being responsible for the process of setting up the classroom every time the circus camped for a show in a town, from the materials and stationery packed into two boxes, and then packing it all back again when the time came to be on the tracks once more, on the way to the next destination.

Imagine the teacher of that mobile, make-shift school, having her “house” set up in one of the coaches, which measured 7 ft by 12 ft, for all of the eight years that she worked with that Circus company.

When that teacher is someone who you have come to know as a friend, then of course you would want to read the book that she has written about that extraordinary experience.

Manna K. Abraham is someone I came to know virtually through a “Women only” group called “Her Trivandrum” on Facebook. The founder and sole Administrator of that group, Anjali Manoj, who is based in Thiruvananthapuram, had initially started the page merely to facilitate where to find what and stuff like that for those living in that city. To make a long story short, it is now a huge group with close to, or more than, 15000 members spanning several countries across the world.

It has evolved to become a wholesome space of support for women placed in circumstances — domestic, work-place related or otherwise — who need to reach out and express themselves without fear of being judged; for those who need encouragement in their small-scale entrepreneurial ventures; for those who need a sounding board for their personal dilemmas relating to a wide spectrum of issues ranging from the education of their children to mental health problems or marital discord, or to just share their travel stories, book and film reviews, amusing anecdotes, or a song or a dance that lightens up the day.

Along with her dearest family members and close friends, Manna has dedicated her book, Heart of the Circus, to Anjali and the members of this vibrant group also, as they had egged her on to compile the stories of her experiences that she had shared in the group from time to time into a full-fledged book.

Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey, billed as the greatest show on earth, has a long history dating back to 1870, Wikipedia will tell you. It had to eventually be closed down in 2017 because of low attendance, protests from animal-rights groups and high operating costs. But in September 2023, it was re-launched again, this time without any animals performing and with no clowns or a ringmaster.

How she got to be part of that historical entertainment enterprise and the exceptionally singular kind of experiences that she had garnered during the eight years that she worked with them as the “Travelling Teacher” is what Manna’s book is all about.

Breaking away from a stifling marriage and the community around her which expected her to be an obedient sheep of the flock and nothing else, Manna had decided many years ago to cross the Arabian Sea and start afresh in Kuwait.

“I just knew at one point in my life I couldn’t take it anymore. The swirling restlessness inside me was at a point of eruption. That is when I clawed back. I transitioned from being Jekyll to Hyde — reckless and self-destructive at times, abrasive and aggressive in my words and actions. I didn’t care for myself anymore and therefore didn’t care for others either. I was not afraid of being alone anymore. I looked forward to getting old. But I also knew I had to live before I started getting old. This realisation, I guess, was when I decided I needed to turn from being a victim to a victor. That was the moment I realised that the choice to be a victim or victor lay within me.”

Manna had left behind her elder son who was already in college and had taken up a job as a teacher in Kuwait. Her younger son, who was then a teenager, was with her till he obtained admission to a college.

That was the point when she decided that she needed a break from Kuwait. On a whim, she had planned a trip to the U.S.A which would synchronise with the school vacation and had been successful in obtaining a visa in spite of the fact that it was just a few months after 9/11, which had made entry to that country much more difficult.

“So why do you want to go to the US?” she had been asked.

“Over the years, I have virtually watched the ball drop for New Year in Times Square. This year, I want to be there; it is on my bucket list. I have two weeks of Winter break and want to return when the school reopens.”

Her reply had earned her the coveted seal on her passport. It had been as easy as that.

Manna had a close friend in Boston and she would be staying with her during that short itinerary.

That first trip had not been tension free, however, as she lost her passport after getting off the flight at Heathrow Airport. Fortunately she could retrieve it with the help of a few very co-operative airport staff and was accommodated on a later flight that would take her to the American shores.

But that first jaunt also lodged in her an unbearable itch to go back during the following summer vacation.

This time she was given a ten-year multiple entry visa.

And guess what her answer was to the consular officer this time?

“I loved what I saw on my last visit and now I want to see the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls and the Statue of Liberty.”

That’s Manna for you.

And she returned only after twelve years, eight of which she spent alternating between her “home” in a coach on the train and in a circus arena.

Before setting out itself, Manna had decided to take up an independent accommodation on her second visit to the US and had been lucky to find an affordable one that was let out by an Indian widow. She was able to find a job in a school as well. It must be kept in mind that even trying to find employment in that country when one was there on a visitor’s visa was treated as an offence under the law. But she had persisted and had even managed to get all the necessary documents in place.

But that job hadn’t lasted long. The class assigned to her had a group of rebellious teenagers who challenged her from the word go. The establishment wasn’t kind to her either and after some episodes that stretched her tolerance to breaking limits, she had resigned.

The months that followed had been extremely tough. She couldn’t pay the rent and had to move to a hostel. Winter had set in and it was unbearably cold, with not enough woollens to keep her warm. She had to make do with minimal food intake during the day.

By that time her elder son had been enrolled in a university in Indianapolis and she was determined to contribute towards his expenses.

She managed to get another job, again as a teacher. While the first set of students she had dealt with had been too belligerent and wild, this group was too sedate to provide her with any sense of proactive contribution. So she kept looking for other jobs. That’s when the advertisement for the job of a “travelling teacher” caught her eye. She had no clue when she sent in her application that the job was that of a teacher in a travelling circus.

She landed the job. Her earlier experiences in the field of special education and as a counsellor had perhaps worked in her favour.

She had no one to guide her. At the beginning of the new journey, when the 135th edition of the show started out, the entire troupe had an “orientation”, when each department was addressed on what was expected of them. But the school was never mentioned.

“Later I began to realise that it was a completely independent entity and I had to run it on my own. I had to make my own decisions, make my lesson plans, conduct exams and focus on education for anyone under the age of 18. I was the Principal, HOD, subject specialist, all rolled into one. It didn’t matter whether they could speak or understand English, which obviously was the medium of instruction.”

“I also learned how to pack and move the school box from one place to another… Into these boxes went all the books of the students, craft materials, stationery for each child, laptops, printers, copiers, a small refrigerator, a microwave and even a coffee maker… Both the boxes had to be tightly packed with Styrofoam if necessary, so it doesn’t move when in transit.”

It was a whole new world, with people belonging to different nationalities coming together to become one large family under the banner of the Circus Company, sharing their daily lives, their moments of grief and moments of joy and celebration, with much more cohesiveness, affection and mutual support than in the world outside it.

Each chapter in the book takes the reader through different aspects of life in that close-knit circus community of 300 people.

“This was also the place where I learned that age was respected…”

In between her teaching assignments… she organised field trips, held a food festival featuring dishes from 27 nations, and even arranged a book-release programme for a second grader, Matthew Iverson, who had written about a dog named Rudy.

“An on-location educator of a circus adorns many hats — a mother, a nurse, a chef, a nanny as the situation warrants…”

But life with the Barnum and Bailey Circus is not all that the book is about.

It is also a personal account of the ups and downs, heartbreak, nostalgia, insecurities, guilt and sadness of a woman who chose to extricate herself from a difficult and unhappy marriage and chart out a solo journey across the oceans into unknown territory.

It is a very honest portrayal of a life lived on her own terms.

Manna returned to India after twelve long years, eight of which was the “always on the move” life with the circus company. Her two cats, Piggy and Moo, were also with her.

Manna had actually been christened “Maria”… and that is how the name Manna stuck.

The Foreword of this book has been written by Johnathan Lee Iverson, the last Ringmaster of Barnum and Bailey…

Like the deliverance of sustenance that descended from the heavens upon the Hebrew children wandering in the desert… we too were blessed with our own abundant gift of “Manna” in the very “Heart of the Circus.”

Manna’s book was launched in an event held in Trivandrum in August 2022 by the celebrated Malayalam writer Benyamin, of Aadujeevitham fame. Subsequently, in March 2024, she had been invited to participate in “Survivor’s Meet”, held in Kochi as a part of the promotion for the film based on Benyamin’s book, directed by Blessy and starring Prithviraj Sukumaran.

Her book has since been translated into Malayalam by Senny Varghese and published by Manorama Books under the title Pincodillaatha Nagaram (The City Without a Pincode).

Heart of the Circus concludes with a deeply moving chapter about Manna’s father… and his harrowing journey on foot from Burma to the Indian border during World War II.

“My father and I shared these intimate moments of soul-searching…”

Manna is turning seventy on the 23rd of February — happy, at peace with herself, and unbroken.

Postscript:
Not related to the book directly, but all the while that I was reading about the life of that circus community in the United States, my mind also kept harking back to the Malayalam film Thampu by G. Aravindan, which had left one feeling depressed by the reflection of the sordidness of the lives of circus performers in our own land. Such a glaring contrast!