Games are not the same anymore

By Lalit Mohan

THE men who administered Raj for our foreign rulers were prodigious chroniclers. In the 19th century the problems of administration were not as complex as they are today and they seemed to have had enough time on their hands to engage in scholarly pursuits. When not holding court at the district headquarters they would set forth on horseback, sola topi and all, on inspection tours of their domain. They observed with a keen eye the activities of their ‘subjects’, recording in minute detail all that they saw and heard.From religious practices to crop patterns, from fairs and festivals to floods and from local legends to communal conflicts, nothing escaped their attention.

These observations were published regularly in the form of district or provincial ‘gazetteers’. These volumes are encylopaedic in their range and their meticulous attention to detail. Despite the imperial chip on their shoulders, the gora sahibs appear to have been fairly objective in their reporting. All together their accounts form a fascinating portrayal of the Indian society in the last century.

One of these is the 1883 gazetteer of Gurgaon compiled, in all probability, though it carries no byline, by T Roberts, the then Deputy Commissioner of the district. While recording the past and the present of his domain, his keen eye did not overlook the "games commonly played by the children". These he describes as follows:

Gend batta or patak dhara: One boy mounts on the back of another and plays with a ball. If this is caught by one of the other boys the catcher is entitled to ride. If neither the rider nor one of the other boys gets hold of the ball, and it falls to the ground, the boy acting as the "steed" throws the rider down and hits a boy with the ball, the boy so hit becoming the "steed" and so the game is continued.

Bhadudu or kabaddi: Which closely resembles a prisoner’s base. In this game two parties are drawn oppsite one another in lines. A member of one side rushes across and, after touching one of the other side tries to get back without taking breath. If he is successful the boy touched is ‘dead’, if, however, the runner is caught and held until he has to take breath, he himself is considered ‘dead.’

Gillidanda: This game resembles tipcat. The stick is called danda and the small piece of wood pointed at both ends which is struck with the danda is called gilli.

A hole called guchchi is dug. If the striker misses the gilli, is caught by one of the other players, the striker has to carry one of them on his back to the guchchi.

Nuna shikari: Salt hunting. In this the boys play at being salt thieves and custom patrols. Kiaris of land are supposed to be salt pans.

Gend dakka: This is much the same as hockey.

Samandar ghitta: This is much the same as hopscotch. The following seven divisions are marked on the ground: Mathum, Ghultam, Panjum, Charchu, Khari, Bhayan and Samandar.

A piece of broken earthenware (thikra) is placed inside the seventh division, and the object of the game is to kick it into other divisions while hopping. The thikra must not rest on any of the dividing lines.

Chil jhapatta or pag phaya: A circle is drawn on the ground. One boy sits and a second stands within the circle, while the others remain outside. One of those outside hits the boy who is sitting.If the standing boy touches the hitter the latter has to sit in the circle. The boy who was sitting stands, and the boy who stood joins the others outside the circle.

Ati pati and ankh michoni are two different forms of hide and seek.

Surang lal ghori: The boys of one party stand in a circle and those of the opposite party jump on their back. The first rider gets down and runs round the others saying. The following: Surang lal ghori, Tum mujh se kiyun na boli, Kuen mein dol, Barabar bol, Pipal ka patta, Hora dupatta, Kuan mein lakri, Main ne ja kakri, Thali mein bhaji, Log lugai razi.

These lines are recited without taking breath. If the boy is successful in mounting his steed, the rest boy does the same, but as soon as one fails the parties change places, the riders become the steeds and the steed the riders.

Nili ka aswar: One boy jumps on the back of another. A third boy asks the rider: "What is your blue mare (nili ghori)worth?" And he replies "Rs 360." The questioner then says she is not worth a "Kani Kauri". The rider then jumps down and chases the third boy. Until he can catch or touch him, other boys ride his steed by turns.

Salem shahi koera or Jamal shahi koera: This is the same as the English game of "Drop the handerkerchief".

Pathar khurki khurka: One boy gets on another’s back. The rider takes a stone in his hand and the steed shuts his eyes. A third boy hits the stone and the rider asks the steed,"Who hit the stone?" If the steed guesses the right boy, the latter takes his place as steed and the former steed becomes rider, otherwise the boy who hit the stone mounts the steed and the game is resumed.

Kor kanktu: This is a game with kankars (stones) placed in division marked out on the ground.

The distinctive feature of these amusements of yore was improvisation, using native ingenuity and, if available, whatever equipment nature could provide. Mechanical artifices were unheard of. And so they remained even after the turn of the century. Nirad C Chaudhri recalls of his school days in his Autobiograph.... "The best part of the pleasure of walking was to feel one’s bare feet sinking in the dust, just as the keenest edge of the joy of kicking, that activity so natural in children and so essential for them, was in raising dust as high as the head."

Even 50 years ago when the present author was a student in Jalandhar the tyranny of heavy homework and fixed time school transport was unknown. Time was no constraint. From government school on Ladowali Road to home in Civil Lines one could loiter through the wheat fields "kicking dust" as Nirad Babu had done in his youth. The beaten track was generally avoided. "Always take a short cut, even if it is a mile longer" was the rule.

First thing out of the school was an impromptu game of marbles. A little recess would be dug in the ground and a contest was on. Or geeta for the girls for which the only equipment required was five pebbles from the roadside.

The mango plant was a particular source of joy and not only because of its fruit. It was the most suitable of all for climbing up. If not the tree, the saplings that grew wild could be pulled out and the stone in its root rubbed clean of all fibre. And then a small opening would be made at one end to turn it into a piercing whistle.

In the rabi season the ears of the wheat plant became the instrument of a very irritating prank. The dynamics of its bristles are such that if it is slid down the back of anyone’s shirt, or up the trouser leg, it can never be pulled back. It has to go down, or up, all the way and come out in somewhat embarrassing circumstances.

Around this time mechanical gadgets and wind-up toys had also come into circulation. The bicycle was a particular source of joy. It gave mobility a new meaning. If the junior size was not available one used the adult machine with one leg reaching out for the pedal on the far side from under horizontal bar. One learnt to ride not with the help of wheeled props, but the hard way, after taking a few nasty falls.

No less innovative was the manner of announcing the acquisition of a new bicycle. This was done by flattening an empty cigarette pack and attaching it to the rear broke clamp. As the spokes of the wheel struck the hard board of the pack in quick succession it created a racket that could match, decibel for decibel, the sound of any phut-phatia.

Today a battery-operated siren does the job of the empty cigarette pack. Games come neatly packaged, and with printed circuits and precise instructions on how to use them. It is not that they are not entertaining, but children are losing out on the use of their inventive skills and the elements that nature provides freely.

They are missing the great outdoors, except for some regulated sports in schools. Amusement is a different ball game with the television screen figuring ominously large in it. In the cities there are no dusty tracks to waddle through. No roadside trees to scamper up. And no time for activities "so natural in children and so essential for them.".