“Laughter is an instant vacation.” – Milton Berle

Can you imagine a hospital ward where the aura is one that is rich with infectious laughter and happiness? Where sickness and its followers, lethargy and hopelessness, are kept at bay with bright smiles? Well, these clowns, or to be precise Compassionate Clowns, in Bengaluru are the crusaders who have taken it upon themselves to bring a smile on every face.

Founded in 2013 by Harish Bhuvan, Compassionate Clowns is an NGO in Bengaluru. The name came from the very work they do – dressing up as clowns and cheering up anybody who needed the moment of respite. From going to hospices, old-age homes to visiting children in the hospital, they are on the journey of distributing happiness. Set on his mission to make love and laughter a part of every individual’s life, Harish left his job as an academician in the Indian Institute of Technology (Bombay).

The stories of their wonderful work had been making rounds and we were surprised by this new take at helping the ones who need it. In a conversation with IWB, Harish Bhuvan gave us a cherished insight into the working of the NGO and what it really means to be a Compassionate Clown.

What gave you the idea that clowning should be the way to bring about happiness?

Well, I always have been a clown and I used to love colours. Also, most NGOs provide help by providing medicines or by holding some interactive sessions. But, my friend and I thought that it’s time to do something different and here we are, bringing smiles to faces for the last three and half years.

Once every week, we visit a medical centre, hospice or old age home and work to uplift their moods. What we practice is therapeutic clowning, wherein we found that children connect better to the ones who brought laughter in their life.

What had been your most memorable moments on your mission to spread joy?

Memorable, hmm. Well, it would be the one when I was performing in a hospice. The people there have a set life sentence – 3-4 months max. It has been my most touching experience ever. I gave each of the patients a rose and they all blessed me with such sincere love. The blessing, that energy which traveled from their hand to me was a feeling that is out of this world.

Does dressing up as clowns suffice or do you indulge in other activities to fix broken smiles?

We crack jokes, act silly, dance around on Bollywood songs, mimic Bollywood actors, sometimes the patients tell us their favourite actor and we impersonate that actor in a funny manner. We also pull magic tricks, juggling tricks, sing school rhymes. Once this Russian magician came and performed, and the kids really loved it. We sit with them and have many conversations too, but never bring up the topic of their ongoing illness.

You mentioned that you and your team also converse with the kids, tell me about one conversation that will stick forever?

There was this kid in the oncology ward whom we had been meeting for like 4 weeks. Once I was talking to this kid and before going, I pulled off my fedora and gave it to him. He looked up with a smile and declared that when he grows up he wants to be a clown too. To impact the life of someone so young, that he decides to be the harbinger of happiness in the future is something that I’ll remember forever.

Another day, a kid started telling us why he likes his mother, not in a preachy way, mind you.

You have a team of compassionate clowns!

Our team is mostly made up of freelancers who come and go but we do sometimes collaborate with other NGOs like Faith, Ek Daali, Share A Smile.

There is one ritual we follow: we have a gratitude session both before and after we entertain the kids. Before going in the ward we express our gratitude for the things we have in life. And after the session is over we will hold silence in gratitude for the parents, and hospital for allowing us to talk with the kids.

Were your parents supportive of your decision to ditch your prior work and dive into running an NGO?

Initially, they thought I was mad as I wanted to be a clown. After parents of the children started coming to our house, thanking me for my effort and mentioning the big service I am doing to humanity, only then did my parents became accommodating of the fact that their son works dressed up as a clown.

Have you ever faced any restrictions when it comes to getting permission from the hospital?

Never! In fact, they wait for us. Even they need some cheering from time to time. Imagine working in a hospital, they are also sad and frustrated at times. And it’s not just the patients we entertain, we also make sure that the hospital staff, too, has a big smile on their faces. 

Well, your makeup is dead on! Were you people always this good?

Not initially. We would get ready according to what we deemed right. I was researching on clowns and then I started my study on the therapeutic use of clowning. Now we have a specially designed curriculum which we follow.

The resemblance to real clowns is uncanny. But what about the kids who are scared at the mere mention of clowns?

Well, to counter that after the performance is over we wash off our makeup and get out of our costumes and meet the patients. We don’t let the fear set in as they get to see our real faces and see for themselves the reality.

Do you meet patients who are terminally ill?

Once this kid was in dire need of a bone marrow transplant, so we connected him to an NGO that was working in this field. When someone needs blood, we post the requirement on our Facebook page, approach the concerned NGO. We make sure that the patient’s needs are met with.

Do you have ethics, any rules you strictly abide by while performing?

We never resort to toxic jokes, nor do we bring someone else down for the sake of cracking jokes. Also, we never give edible stuff to the kids, like chocolate, chips etc. as we don’t know what their immunity level is. We don’t want to mess up with their routines.

And one thing we strongly abide by, never to use any technical gadget to get close to the kids. Like using the games in my phone to cheer the kids, they probably have those and are already bored of them.

Apart from this one, what other compassionate work do you engage in?

I train future to-be clowns and apart from that I hold workshops with collaboration with an NGO named Faith, founded by Vaani Khare, wherein I make children and their parents aware of the evil of child sexual abuse. We also include the school staff and police forces as part of the workshop.

I also conduct workshops on the value of love and laughter in life, gratitude listening. In today’s world everyone is into relegating their own experiences, rarely does anyone care about what the other person has to say.

What is the mantra you live by?

Love! Laughter! And Compassion! Compassionate Clowns is a space where we co-create a place for love and laughter.