Date:11/11/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/11/11/stories/2006111114820200.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

`Clown princes' seen fooling around town

Susan Muthalaly

The Harlem Globetrotters will play at Nehru SDAT stadium

JOINING THE BIG BOYS: A young boy joins the Harlem Globetrotters Basketball team member, who performed at Landmark in Spencer Plaza on Friday. — Photo: R. Ragu

CHENNAI: For Hiresh, this visit was BIG. Considering that this three-year-old aspiring basketball player barely reached up to the kneecaps of most of the Harlem Globetrotters, we are talking really big.

Number 9 (or was it number 21?) probably picked the Lady Andal School student out of the heaving crowd at Landmark Spencer Plaza, because he was afraid he'd trip on him.

Anyway, there Hiresh was spinning the ball with perhaps the most well-known basketball team in the world (definitely the one with the most pizzazz).

This was their way of letting people know that they would be playing in town soon.

The crowd did not know too much about the team, and they certainly did not recognise any of the players.

But, everybody's game for a good show, and that's what this preview turned out to be. Lots of enthusiastic children were seen jumping like seals during snack time for autographs from the six footer-plus men.

The players fooled around with the basketball. They rolled the ball from shoulder to shoulder, under their knees, and passed it between them with practiced ease.

Look forward to some entertainment at the games from November 18 to 20.

These guys aren't called the `clown princes' for nothing.

They will be playing at the Nehru SDAT stadium from 7 p.m. onwards.

Tickets are available at Landmark and Marrybrown outlets.