Tarun Rana, a migrant from Rajasthan, a father and a clown

Tarun Rana (29) has been a clown for twelve years now. Currently, he stands out of the Pari Collection in Lajpat Nagar Market of New Delhi. Originally from Rajasthan, Tarun lives in Uttam Nagar in West Delhi. Clowns selling are not an uncommon sight in Delhi markets but seldom does it happen that someone takes a look at what lies behind these coloured faces. Where do these people come from? Is it their permanent job? Don't they get tired? Do they like their job?

Tarun Rana, was kind enough to take out some time from his working time and let us have an insight into his life, behind the painted face. Says he, "We have a group of friends doing the same job. We also attend birthday parties, events, and marriages together. Here, I earn approximately 15000 rupees a month." Tarun supports a family made up of his wife, two daughters, and an old mother.

He is proud of what he does. “I feel good when children get excited on seeing me and people come to click pictures. No one has made me feel small or disrespected me,” says he.

The markets of Delhi feature big shops, flea markets, scrumptious street food, and badly parked cars. Clowns such as Tarun are nowadays a common feature found in the markets of Delhi, with painted faces and colourful frilled clothes. They shout the offers and discounts, they distribute pamphlets and whatever it takes for you to visit ṭheir shop. This promotion technique is quite prevalent in various markets of the capital.

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While talking about his job, he says, “Wearing makeup and these dresses is my daily routine which hardly consumes any time and this does not irritate me anymore whether it's summer, winter or raining. Being on duty, if I get tired, I take my break and eat something."

Tarun works this trade with a group of friends. This group get orders from all over Delhi and NCR doing all kinds of promotional activities, be it promoting shops or products, birthday anniversaries, or weddings.

On being asked about what hardships he has to face because of this job, Tarun says, “Life is a rollercoaster ride where we sometimes enjoy and sometimes learn from the hard times.  Everybody faces some or other problems in their life and so do I.”

The lockdown came as a setback to him as the markets were closed and no parties and marriages were happening. However, Tarun kept his spirits high through tough times as well. He says, "We had to arrange financial support from here and there but at  last everything was managed."

He ended the conversation with, “I am happy in my life, it should be good and healthy. We do not require a lot of things to be satisfied in life. There is no job in the world that is hard or easy. However, being a clown is not a cakewalk. You have to stand on the streets beat the weather, whether it is 50 degrees temperature in summers or 10 degrees temperature in winters. It requires a lot of courage and dedication."