His immediate elder brother Motilal Bose was a wrestler who founded an akhada in Chingirpota whose members were later involved in revolutionary activities.

Priyanath attended primary school in Chhota Jagulia and then took admission at the Metropolitan Institution in Kolkata.

While working as an instructor at the akhadas of Gourhari Mukhopadhyay, Priyanth along with one of his assistants Bholanath Mitra and a person by the name of 'Aulcharu' founded a gymnastic club in Simulia.

Narendranath Dutta, his neighbour and the classmate of his elder brother Motilal Bose, who later became Swami Vivekananda used to train in this akhada.

Apart from coaching the pupils and managing the affairs of these clubs, he had also set up similar akhadas in Agarpara, Panihati and his own village Chhota Jagulia.

In c. 1885, Priyanath was invited at a fancy fete event at the Zoological Gardens in Alipore where he exhibited the gymnastic feats of his pupils.

He expressed his interest in meeting Priyanath, and when they met, Lord Dufferin addressed him as Professor Bose.

At the show, he would resolve to set up his own circus, with an all-Bengali team and he would prove that Bengalis were also fearless and skillful.

He would prepare sketches of the performing artistes at their various poses and bribe the circus workers to give him access to their equipment.

Once while he was training his pupils at the akhada in his ancestral village of Chhota Jagulia, a very thin and skinny horse arrived there.

Priyanath considered the sudden appearance of the horse out of nowhere as a good omen and an indication from the Supreme Being to start his own circus.

His father Manomohan Bose was never very comfortable with Priyanath choosing a career based on his gymnastic skills.

Priyanath fumed at his father's actions and resolved to pursue his goal, in spite of opposition from his family.

In December 1888, the Great Bengal Circus was invited to perform equestrian and gymnastic feats at the Tajhat palace Gobindalal Roy, the zamindar of Rangpur.

He was so impressed with their performance that he retained them two more nights and presented the team 25 pairs of shawls and certificate of excellence.

Mahima Ranjan Roy Chowdhury, the zamindar of Kakina who was present at the Tajhat Palace at that time too certified the team's excellent performance and hoped the elites of the country to patronize the Great Bengal Circus.

As the news of success of Great Bengal Circus began to be published in the newspapers, people of Kolkata longed to see their performance in the city of its birth.

His shows were graced and patronized by eminent dignitaries including the Maharajas of Kapurthala and Cooch Behar and the zamindar of Burdwan.

His circus would spend the major part of year in Burma, British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies and return to Kolkata in the winter.

While his Professor Bose's Grand Circus was touring Klang and other cities of British Malaya, Priyanath went to Singapore for treatment.

Bose hired Gus Burns, an American, to train the tigers and lions, and there were later Indian men and women who performed as ringmasters, as well.