Why should kids have all the fun? There are lots of play zones around town but all have a cut-off age limit of about 12, leaving the grown-ups watching the juniors wistfully.
But a trampoline park has opened in New Town that finally turns the attention to adults. Jus’ Jumpin’ is now on the 10th floor of ABC Square in New Town. This building is near Akankha More, next to NKDA’s cricket stadium.
JOUSTING: Grab a foam lance, stand on a dancing bridge and try to knock off your opponent. If and when you fall off, you land in a pit of foam cubes that itself is great fun to climb out of. Another section has you crossing such a pit by hanging from rope ladders, rings and the like.
Brinda Sarkar“The response is unthinkable. We’ve barely opened two weeks and yesterday there were some 700 people queuing up in the basement. We needed bouncers to control the crowd. People are coming from as far as Siliguri and Durgapur. We’ve already hosted 10 birthday parties without the clients even having seen the park before,” says Shikha Bathwal, who is a partner at Jus’ Jumpin’ along with husband Sumit Bathwal.
DONUT SLIDE: climb into an inflatable donut-shaped tube, get pushed down a slope and in all probability, end up toppling. This ride, however, requires some balance and so is open only to those above the age of 11.
Brinda SarkarThe couple had opened their first outlet at City Centre 2 in 2017 and have six more across the country now. This is the seventh outlet but it is also a first. “This is the first arena for adults. The moms at the other centres would always ask me if they could join the kids. Even the kids who started coming to us from 2017 have now grown up and would look at me sadly as they couldn’t jump in anymore,” says Shikha.
WIPE OUT: This section has a machine with two air-filled rods jutting out and rotating in a circular motion. Revelers have to jump and duck to avoid them — all on a trampoline mat. “This has become one of the biggest attractions of the park and everyone flocks to it when it’s on,” says floor in-charge Syed Md Saifullah. There are three speed modes on this too — greenhorn, cowboy and ambush — to up the stakes.
Brinda SarkarThe new 15,000sq ft space has come up after much searching. “Most of our malls are not keen on renting out space for entertainment. They prefer traditional outlets like clothing,” she says. ABC Square has retail as well as office space. “Some malls do have play areas but they are all video games. We have ensured our space doesn’t have a single electronic game as we want people to be physically active.”
VELCRO WALL: Put on a Velcro body suit and jump on the trampoline, attempting to touch a wall behind that has a Velcro surface. And then you’ll get stuck to it! Girls, keep your hair tied for this one as the locks may get stuck to the Velcro otherwise.
Brinda SarkarThe rates are Rs 650 for 90 minutes from Monday to Thursday and Rs 750 from Friday to Sunday. Timings are from 11am to 9.30pm.
“We wanted to make the park affordable for the middle class and so have made all facilities available after a one-time payment. Video game-based parlours charge customers for every game and that drives up the bill exorbitantly,” says the resident of New Town’s Silver Oak Prive.
WALL CLIMBING: Instructors are strapping the harness and safety gear on visitors, who then have to climb a 15ft high wall. “We have provision for three people to climb at a time,” says instructor Ram Gupta. “Visitors are constantly asking us to shoot videos for them but we have been asked not to as it’s a distraction.”
Brinda Sarkar
GIANT STEPS: Visitors have to hop from one giant step to another. There are 10 such steps placed in a circular pattern and the objective is to reach the top and return without falling off. “I love heights and easily managed to climb to the top,” said Swapna Kumari Mahata, who got disbalanced on the way down. “Today’s my 19th birthday and have been brought here as a surprise. This is my most fun birthday ever!”
Brinda Sarkar
