FORGOTTEN GAMES

Well, well... now that India is truly out of the World cup and administrators are ruminating over the ruthless culling that is in store for our team, I am nostalgic to think about the "games" that we used to play while growing up. True, we had our heroes in Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev and they rose over the nation looming large in every walk of life- they were our GODS. The iconic stature of cricketing figures made largely popular by the advent of one-day cricket and the rise of Doordarshan (initially) and then satellite TV, cricket was THE game.

Cricket's influence apart, there were (and still are) a good number of other modes of fun. But I remember many of the games I played as a kid before getting sucked up into cricket. And man, were they fun! There are so many games played in the backyards and streets of India, many of them are designed to deliver what a game should provide- entertainment and exercise, along with immense fun. Kids remember playing Seven-stones (or Nagoliyo in Gujarat), Gilli-Danda, Hide & Seek, 5 stones, Goli (kanchey), Top (lattoo, bambaram), Pallanguzhi (Channe-manne in Kannada), Ikri-Dukri, Ankmicholy (blind man's buff), and a host of other sweet games which have no proper names.

Gilli-Danda I guess has to be the most popular game amongst the little imps in India. The "Gilli" is a small stick tapered at the ends, and it is placed conveniently in a hole or in the ground at an angle. The "Danda" is a 2 feet stick which is used to strike the Gilli, which becomes airborne and then struck at. If the opposition team player catches your Gilli, you are out and he gets a point. If not, the opposition team member has to hit the Danda (which is now placed in the hole in the ground) with the Gilli, from where it landed (just like a run-out in cricket). If he succeeds, he gets a point or else the other team/person gets it. There are many variants to this game and it was real fun, and acted as a precursor to playing the more mature but somewhat similar game, cricket.

The young girls (mostly in towns and villages) used to play Ikri-Dukri (this has many names across India). A rectangle about three yards long and two yards wide is drawn. This rectangle is divided into various compartments about a foot wide. The space of four-foot square in the middle is subdivided into four triangles by a cross. Beyond these triangles are three more parallel lines. The girls then push a piece of flat stone or broken earthenware pot, also called "thippi" with their big toe (or hop with it in the toes), into all the compartments in a sequence. The first to complete cleanly is the winner.


Goli (or marbles) is also very popular with the young brats of India. Many versions are present with this game too, but chief objective is to put your marble into a hole dug at a distance from the starting point. But wait- you also have to thwart your opponent's efforts from him reaching the hole first; which is done by hitting his marbles. It requires deft fingers, arched back to take aim and accuracy- and then struck with a force. Many instances of a bigger bully taking over your marbles are part and parcel of this game...


And then there is a game made popular by village heroes in movies. The top (Bambaram in tamil, Lattoo in Hindi) is mainly played by boys. You spin a coil around a top and let it spin on the ground. The winner is the person who manages to spin the top for a long time. I never tried much of this game though.

Patang Baazi (Kite Flying) is a very popular pastime among kids and adults alike. The kite flying festival is very popular in north India. It is called BASANT or Jashn-e-Baharan in Pakistan(Lahore) and in Punjab, coinciding with the Vasanth Panchami. Makara Sankranthi or the first day of the Uttarayan is when Indians celebrate this event. Festivities apart, kite flying requires some skill too. The thread for the kite is made ultra-strong by dipping it in what is called "MAANJA"- a weird concoction of every perceivable rotting stuff/poison and other household liquids and pastes, along with powdered blades, battery acid too, sometimes! The resulting thread is very strong and it is beneficial in cutting others' kites. The kites too, have a design and other research behind it to make it airborne and easy-to-manage. Colourful and teeming the sky, kite terminology in local lingo is varied and numerous. This is one sport which I sucked at...


Seven stones (my favourite) is again a boys game. You line up seven flat stones one on top of the other and form two teams. With a tennis ball you are given 3 chances to hit the stones from a distance- Once you hit the stones, the opposite team members try to hit you with the ball, and team work also plays here. Your team has to re-assemble the seven stones to how they were, while the other team members try to hit your team members. Points are gained when you successfully reassemble the stones or if you successfully hit a member of the opposite team.

Hide and seek is known to every kid in this world, while a similar game, Ankmicholy is played by blindfolding a person who has to contact (touch) the others. Again, this is made popular by movies.

Then there is this game, a version of which was played by Sita in Lanka when she was waiting to be rescued. I dont know the name of this game in Hindi, but in tamil it is called Pallanguzhi, or Channe-manne in Kannada or Vamana Guntalu in Telugu. It consists of a rectangular board with two rows and seven columns, having 14 cups in total. 146 counters (seeds, beads, stones were used) are placed 12 in each cup and one in the center column, to start with (variants exist). The counters from one cup are taken and deposited one by one in an anti-clockwise direction, and once they are exhausted, the next available counter is taken. Rules allow to take possession of the counters next to an empty cup. And the aim is to defeat your opponent by claiming most counters. Could be played as a solitaire version too. This requires a bit of mathematical thinking and logic too... perhaps thats why this is only found in south India :))


5-stones is a girls' game played with 5 stones, shells or other similar objects. You throw one in the air and before it comes down, you take a stone from below and catch both. Then you throw both up in the air, and pick up the third stone. And the fourth stone, fifth stone... Variants include catching the stone with your palm facing up (easy) and your palm facing down- like grabbing (tough), hitting the ground 1, 2, 3... times before you attempt your catch. I remember playing this game for a few years in my school days :)

Well, there are many more wonderful games and pastimes which are mingled with the local folklore and culture, and many are forgotten by the time you hit puberty! For instance, I played one game, which is played in sand (beach, for instance). Your opponent closes your eyes with his/her hands and gives you an object (stick, for instance) and asks you to bury it at a particular place while she still keeps your eyes closed. Then she walks you for some distance and releases you- after which you have to retrieve your object within a given time. Yea, those were the times!

Feels nice to be nostalgic once a while!