This is the shocking moment a father balances his daughter on a bamboo pole before hoisting her high in the air and catching her.

Footage captured on August 1 in Bagli, Madhya Pradesh, India, shows a man with the pseudonym Lakhan before a crowd of villagers as he performs the dangerous stunt for their entertainment.

Placing the four-year-old girl on the precarious-looking stick, he lifts her several metres in the air before throwing the pole to the wayside and catching her just inches before she hits the floor.

The villagers clap at the reckless stunt, which outraged the filmer, Ravi Mishra.

Photojournalist Mishra told Newsflare: "I spoke to Lakhan for as long as an hour and I was sad to see how adamant he was while justifying the act and risking his daughter's life, only to make ends meet.

"In a day, Lakhan earns 500 to 700 Rupees, which is a lot of money to be made in a village. The sight of a young girl being used as a means of entertainment, without any safety measure, is horrifying."

Mishra added that the act pushed him to inform a local NGO in the hopes of stopping such forms of entertainment.

But the real danger, he adds, is poverty.

He writes: "It is my humble and earnest appeal to everybody to not just paint a grim picture about such acts but, also stop and report them being performed in the name of entertainment, under the shadow of poverty."

+Video & writeup Ravi Mishra+
Lakhan (not his real name), father of a 4-year-old, balances his daughter only to catch her as she falls from the top of a highly held bamboo stick, while performing one of his entertainment acts in his village, In Bagli Madhya pradesh India to earn a living.

In a day, Lakhan earns INR 500 to 700, which is a lot of money to be made in a village. The sight of a young girl being used as a means of entertainment, without any safety measure, is horrifying. Can something be more embarrassing than the final round of claps received from a totally negligent audience?

I spoke to Lakhan for as long as an hour and I was sad to see how adamant he was while justifying the act and risking his daughter's life, only to make ends meet. Is this what we are living for? Should our needs and desires be valued more than love and life?

The heartless act made me reach out to a local NGO where I reported the incident to stop Lakhan from risking anyone's life, and he is being watched since that day. It is my humble and earnest appeal to everybody to not just paint a grim picture about such acts but, also stop and report them being performed in the name of entertainment, under the shadow of poverty.