Chinese razzmatazz: Wuhan Acrobatic Troupe performs in New Delhi

Imagine a snub-nosed, squint-eyed Chinese girl balancing a Ming flower-vase on her head. And then, imagine four sturdy sticks shooting out of the vase, Ikebana-style, to support the four legs of an antique breakfast table. And the table is not empty; it is draped and laid out with all the complex trappings of a Mandarin tea-party.

The girl, with her spectacular headload, formed part of the razzmatazz Wuhan Acrobatic Troupe that performed in New Delhi last fortnight. The 51-member Chinese troupe's visit may also mark yet another feat of political acrobatics on Beijing's part. Barring once in the early '70s, when Chairman Mao smiled, and again in 1976, when ping pong diplomats from China visited India, Sino-lndian relations have been through an unbroken chill since 1962.

Chinese acrobatics, like the country's pottery, martial arts, and philosophy, dates back to 2,000 years. It was confined to itinerant groups showing their "skills at various places. No longer. With the communists coming to power in 1949, acrobatics, like everything else, is run by the state.

In 1953, the Wuhan Acrobatic Troupe was formed with a total of 72 members. Imbued with the rich strands of everyday life and infused with a unique national fervour, the troupe swung up the trapeze of success. The state provides the acrobats with scholarships and monthly wages, which amount to anything from 40 yuan (about Rs 240) to 200 yuan (about Rs 1,200) as well as bonus and welfare fees.