A travelling chimpanzee trained to ace ten-pin bowling would have a suite in the hotel but there was no room for a very popular team of black basketballers known for their jaw-dropping skills and laugh-a-minute entertainment. This was America in the early part of the last century. Racism was rampant and the discrimination against Blacks was nauseatingly inhumane. Sports too, back then, was ghettoised. The blacks weren’t allowed on courts with whites, were told to play in their ‘hood and their competitions were officially called Negro Major League. But the team that was once seen less worthy than a chimp went on to change the world. That’s the Harlem Globetrotters, the pioneers of magical basketball, the kings who also doubled as court jesters. They were show-boaters and tricksters with incredible ball-skills. They didn’t win World Championships, but conquered hearts and ruled the minds of the world. Even decades after its birth in Chicago, the Harlem Globetrotters brand has survived. Estimates say they have put up shows in 127 countries and entertained close to 148 million …