Even a few years ago, the idea of an amusement park in the megalopolis, exclusively for children, was a fanciful dream. But yesterday’s dream is today’s reality! So long our teeny boppers could only come across such fun-packed pavilions in the movies. But now such a dream has turned into reality and the kiddies can bungee run, roller skate, Jump walls, ride bikes, dance and do anything they feel like. Yes! Its all possible in Clown Town.
Mr. Sanjay Maheswari built this nonpareil park, the only one of its kind in Calcutta. It is situated near Patuli Fire Station in Patuli Township. This is an extended portion of Baishnavghata, Garia in the southern end of the city. As mentioned earlier, this park has been designed exclusively for children.
Some of the fun-games available here are simply splendiferous. One such game is ‘bungee run.’ Elastic belts are fastened around the firths of the kids. They try to run forward but the belts pull them back with a bang. Colourful cushions are placed at the back. The harder one tries to scamper, the greater pulls the belt and the kid finally loses control and gets pinioned against the cushion wall.
Then comes ‘wall jumping’ with a different costume and setting. Pressing against the spongy cushion wall, the kid tries to jump high up. While descending, the child gets stuck against the wall ….. descends a bit ….. gives a somersault and gets stuck against the cushion wall again.
Another remarkable feature of this fantastic park covering a sprawling 40,000 sq.ft. is ‘motor racing.’ Indeed, motor-racing as a part, is a feast for the eyes of the beholder. The kids simply get glued to the T.V. sets when such races are shown on the screen. One can easily imagine their ecstasy, when they can themselves participate in such races here, at Clown Town. It is known as kid’s Grand Prix. There are tiny motor bikes which start running at a dazzling speed as soon as the kids ride on them.
Then there is ‘foot-loose,’ the dancing floor. The children can stomp and gyrate with the sound of foot-tapping music in a gorgeous and brightly illuminated floor. A few steps ahead of ‘foot loose,’ there is a spacious 2500 sq.ft. area which has been prepared for roller skating. The ex-national champion Swati Bhagat will soon be busy teaching the kiddies the art of skating. This is the ‘fun on wheels.’
Then comes bump boats. As the kids aboard a boat, it starts swinging wildly and the riders are thrown off balance as they stumble and tumble on each other. It is great fun as is evident from the chortle of laughter of the children riding the boat.
Another fun game which deserves mention is ‘jumping clown.’ There is a tunnel which leads the kids to a pond. Ten thousand plastic balls are floating on the pond. The kids can swim in this pond, take a dip, sprinkle water on each other and play with the balls. It can indeed be a great aquatic sport for the sprightly and mischief loving kids.
For those below three years of age, there is the ‘kiddies kingdom,’ a spectacular world covering one thousand five hundred sq. ft. of land. There are several toys and games in this utopian land for kids. There is the white teddy bear, the Royal Bengal Tiger which is seven ft. in length, the crouching alligator, train, Barbie doll, Kiddy bear, lonely tubes, mini-slides, play-hut, trolley, mini basket-ball and several other things. There is a gigantic colourful dragon which is roaming in the park with a warm and friendly smile. The children will be absolutely delighted to see some prominent characters from the comics books alive, vibrant and moving in front of them. One can find Mickey, Donald, Pluto, Tintin, Captain Haddak and even Charlie Chaplin among other characters in Clown Town.
There is also some source of amusement for the guardians of the Kids. As the children get obsessed with fun and frolics in the festive atmosphere prevailing all around, the guardians can relax in the ‘green areas,’ a place full of lush green and well trimmed grass which looks like green carpet. In the bosom of nature, even the elderly fellows will feel younger and plunge into a sweet journey down memory lane. There are games for the ‘biggies’ too like ‘ball and the board’ which has some distant resemblance with the game of snooker. Then, there is the game of archery for the elderly ones to hit a given target. Mini conferences are also held in the ‘green acres.’ Au, reste, there are table tennis, carom board etc. among the popular indoor games. After so much of frolics and burning a lot of calories, the swinked kids will inevitably feel rats in their tummies. They can then turn to the in-built snacks bar for some fast food and soft drinks to rejuvenate themselves.