The globe riding involves riders driving at speeds close to 60 or 65 kmph to entertain the audience. These riders cover the circumference of an artificial globe cage for over half an hour defying the laws of gravity. What is amazing is the rhythm the four artistes maintain, giving the viewers no time to wink. “Timing and speed is crucial in this game to avoid a crash. It is like a rotating ball in a glass, more the speed more one sticks to the path, if speed breaks one is bound to fall,” says S K Ismail a globe rider from Kolkata.

Asked how it feels while driving and if the fear factor deters him ever Ismail says, “it always seems as if you are going up and up continuously. Every work involves fear, if you have confidence and knowledge there is no fear.”

Inspired by the men in her circus community Sapna Thakur, a lady from Kolkata, also took up globe riding.” It is the courage of our conviction that makes us forget fear,” she smiles.

The dare deeds are accompanied by music from popular Hollywood and Bollywood numbers. It is ‘Go on’ from Titanic for a rope dancer yet the audiences’ eyes are stuck on an agile teenager performing in the air making the onlookers skip a beat. More petrifying are the trapeze acts that make one gaze high in the air with awe as artists swing from one end to the other, and drop on the net below with ease. A mishap last year in which Kumar Singh Lama (22) cracked a bone of his spinal cord and was bedridden for three months has not deterred the spirit of these performers. “A mishap can also happen on the road while driving, there is risk involved in whatever we do in life but that does not stop anyone so why should we stop?,” says an enthusiastic group of trapeze performers- Olya Bortnik (19), Deependra Tiwari (20), Vikas Lama (19), Gautam Rai (22) and Prakash Lama (17).