Tulpule always had an entertaining spirit. He was known as Pravin Tulple the entertainer in his childhood. He was a person who loved the smiles on people’s faces created by him.
His father was a dairy specialist and his mother was a teacher at a government school. His mother used to teach free of cost around her neighbourhood. According to Tulpule, his family was liberated and open-minded. They never forced their children to do against their dreams. Tulpule and his siblings were free to follow their dreams. Probably this mentality today let him be where he always wanted to be. This article will take you to Tulpule’s entire journey from being an Indian Navy Officer to Happy the Clown.
Always an entertainer
At the age of 13, Tulpule came across the art of magic. He learnt magic tricks through books and letters he used to write to magicians to learn about the tricks. Tulpule performed his first show at his own house by inviting neighbourhood kids. Luckily, the show turned out to be a hit and his journey as an entertainer began. From that time on, Tulpule became the entertainer kid of the neighbourhood and started getting gigs from around.
Magic always remained with him from school to college. It even went along with him to his navy career. Back then, a career as a magician was not a sustainable job. Otherwise, Tulpule would have definitely chosen this path as his official career. However, he never let magic or the urge to make people happy go from his heart. Officially, he was a President’s Gold Medalist and Lieutenant Commander, and unofficially, he continued entertaining kids when the adults could attend to other work.
The journey from a Navy Officer, and an entertainer to Happy the Clown
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While in his official duties, Tulpule was also doing shows for charity initiatives through the navy. One day he received a call from a lady who asked him if he could perform for a group of kids on the coming Sunday. Tuplue said a big yes as he was excited and more than happy to do the task.
The day came and he was very confident about his performance and happy to make those kids smile. He reached the destination following that lady’s instructions for the costume and make-up.
Tulpule however comes to know that the kids he has come to entertain are battling cancer. This deterred his confidence a bit as his heart felt heavy seeing that these kids are in pain and battling a disease. Gradually, he gathered his heart and courage to perform. He thought this is what he has come to do here and that he will make these innocent kids happy as much as he can. He was there to relieve those kids from their pain, and that’s exactly what he did.
Tulpule gave the performance with all his heart. All the kids were playing, dancing, and interacting with him. However, there was a kid who stood out the most for him. He was very involved in everything with excitement and looking through Tulpule’s bags and pockets. Then it was time to end the show and everything went back to normal the way it was.
A turning point
According to Tulpule, a few days later after the show, he saw a black and white photo appear in the newspaper. This photo had Tulpule and that same kid in it. He thought the kid made him famous. He was so happy about it that he shared the newspaper with his friends and family and received tons of appreciation.
After a few days, Tulpule received a call from that lady again. He started thanking her for letting him perform and introducing that kid to him. However, the lady said in a grim voice that the kid has passed away recently. His last wish was to meet a joker from the circus which Tulpule fulfilled. He helped him check off that final thing that day from his checklist. He was happy and left us with peace.
This incident left Tulpule with great effect.
It’s time to become Happy the clown
It was the year 2000 when Tulpule had the awakening. It was the period when he had finished his 17 years of service in the navy. After 3 years he would become eligible for a lifelong pension, medical benefits, and other such perks. But it was that very same year when Tulpule realised that he needed to wear a different uniform now. This was the uniform that most people would hesitate to wear and go out on the streets. But for Tulpule, this was what he was meant for and became Happy the Clown.
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It wasn’t an easy decision for him. He went through several sleepless nights and people called him a fool. He was also restless thinking how he would financially sustain a living and manage such things. But deep down he knew that he didn’t want to do anything more than making smiles on terminally ill kids’ faces. The rest of the things were secondary to him. Moreover, his family stood with him in this decision and became his strength in this journey.
What did his journey contribute?
After becoming a clown officially, Tulpule started this path with free shows for NGOs and hospitals from different parts of the country. He would perform for cancer-affected kids. He gradually accepted other offers as well such as MNCs, birthday parties, and becoming Santa Claus for Christmas. Till the pandemic, he would travel for more than 300-400 shows a year and most of these were for charity. That’s how he spent many of his years. His family was so proud of him, especially his children. This was the job that gave him the utmost happiness and satisfaction.
For Tulpule, spreading happiness is the biggest thing you can do for others. It doesn’t cost you much. Rather the smiles you receive in return are priceless. There is no other experience you can attain compared to this. He wishes to entertain people till his last breath.
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Author: Simran K Parmar
A post graduate in English Literature, secular humanist, critical thinker, an outspoken atheist, follower of equality and a lover of philosophy. craftedfashion94@gmail.com
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