Malappuram (Kerala), May 5 (IANS): 100 Jumbo circus artistes besides their entire pack of animals are hoping against hope after being stuck since the lockdown began in March, near here.

They had their last show at Kottakal near here on March 11 and when they were packing their bags to leave to Bengaluru, came the lockdown and since then they are holed up in their tents and are at the mercy of the generous who come to their help time and again.

"Things are getting tough as we have camels, dogs, birds which have a different eating pattern. Moreover the artistes are also finding it tough . We are stuck," said Dineshan, a manager of the circus team to IANS.

"The local authorities did come to our help and provided us with food supplies. They have now helped us to move our things to a more safe place, as the place where our things were kept was a low lying land and with the rains, it could get flooded. We have started shifting to the new place," added Dineshan.

The entire team consisted of 140 and 40 of them left soon after the performance was stopped on March 11.

The present team consists of One Ethiopian and 6 South African nationals including a lady. The remaining are form various states of the country and includes 29 women.