The good old games of yore...

A few days back, I was driving to a friend's place when I noticed some children playing a strange game by the roadside. They were playing with some flat metal discs made with bottle caps and thick cards, made with paper and plastic, that is usually strewn around their tiny shanties. I could not learn what the game was about and how it was played but it surely looked fascinating. The game stayed in my mind along with the children's happy faces. What touched me most in that sight was the simplicity of the game and sheer joy children derived from it. The experience was reminiscent of the innocent, simple games I used to enjoy as child with my friends and siblings!

Any Indian, who has been brought up in smaller city would know the joy of playing games like " gilli danda", "lagori","chor police","kho kho ""kabbadi". The thrill of climbing trees and searching for the fruits specially the ones that were tasted by the birds is beyond words! The excitement of catching butterflies, ladybirds or tadpoles and after the maddening chase was over, releasing them gently and sleeping on the grass bed and feeling proud of one's valiant efforts, was almost an everyday overwhelming ritual. The most beautiful part of these adventures was that there was always a whole gang of children to play with.

When the summer months arrived, there was a huge treasure trove of indoor games! Playing with simple, ordinary things like broken glass bangles, shells, stones or tamarind seeds was ultimate joy! Creating games out of junk was a matter of pride! All these games helped great bonding and imparted great values and life skills without burden of learning them! Many games were designed to teach mathematical skills, develop motor skills, hand eye coordination, concentration, strategy planning, creativity, knowledge and team spirit. The joy of these games was doubled when grand-parents joined the team! Making puppets, assigning names and creating new stories and the characters with help of grand-parents was favourite with boys and girls alike!

Games have changed with the time! These days, children are more interested in electronic medium. Most of their free time is spent on watching television or playing video games. These games have their own advantages of course, but they alienate children from the real world that influences their social skills to great extent.

Gone are the days of huge playgrounds and a huge gang of buddies to play with! Sadly, today's children have ample of toys and games to select from but they don't have time and inclination to explore it. They are happy munching junk food and watching television programmes. The grand-parents who were most important part of growing and learning years are rarely around.

Every time, I visit a store to buy gift for any child, I am overwhelmed by the choices. I wonder, why children are complaining of boredom in spite of the multiple options they have? I am dying to see a hand made doll and listen to her stories from a child's mouth. I am dying to see that sense of wonder on a child's face that I feel is lost long back somewhere!Is there anyway we can get it back? I would give anything just to have one glimpse of it!!!