Bombay Circus @ SIAA Grounds | 01:00 PM – Onwards

A narrow entrance, lots of dust (if you are asthmatic, it is best you take your inhaler along), a little bit of a stench, an open car park. The Great Bombay Circus has come to Chennai (at SIAA Grounds, near Moore Market) after a gap of four years. Supposedly one of the oldest circuses in the country, this time around they have a number of attractions such as the cube jugglers from Russia and the walking caterpillars from Uzbekistan. It is said that The Great Bombay Circus was started in Hyderabad of the Sindh Province, now in Pakistan, in 1920 by Baburao Kadam and Kunni Kannan.

Acrobats

One of the major attractions here is the bunch of acrobats from Uzbekistan. They somersault, they cartwheel and pinwheel, do twists and turns and bend their bodies in more ways than you can imagine. There is one point at which four of the boys do head stands on an elevated surface, their legs in a V shape, and the fifth boy somersaults through the hurdle set, without touching a single leg!

Jugglers

The cube jugglers too are impressive, three of them juggling and spinning large metal cubes in the air. The Indians at the circus are no less exciting. The juggler is at his best, his finale being juggling three footballs in his hand while two ping pong balls get juggled with his mouth.

More entertainment

The clowns too are funny but the circus belongs to the trapeze artists, who are simply phenomenal. Their last act performed in the dark is breathtaking.

Tips

•  Tickets are priced between Rs. 25 and Rs. 100, based on how close to the ring you want to sit.
•  Daily shows are at 1 PM, 4 PM and 7 PM.
•  You can take in your own food. But everything is sold at the circus, from ice cream and popcorn, to cotton candy and juice.
•  There is one sequence where an elephant plays cricket with a football. He bats it all over the arena, so MetroMela suggests you watch out for your head and your children’s too in this round.
•  The trapeze round is right at the end and you might feel the urge to get up and leave so as to avoid the traffic rush outside. But it would be nice if you could wait till the end and applaud the trapeze artistes.
• Photography is allowed.
• There are toilets on the premises but extremely dirty.
• They start bang on time, so don’t be late.
• Lots of parking space is available.

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