Finding solace in traditional games

Age no bar

Ali Guli Mane

Pagade.

Ali Guli Mane

An artisan making traditional games and toys at Channapatna.

Covid patients play a traditional board game at a Covid care centre in Hubballi.

Covid patients play board games at Covid care centres in Bengaluru.

Covid patients play a traditional game at a Covid care centre in Bengaluru.

Tic Tac Toe

Chowkabara

When 55-year-old Jairathnamma found she was Covid positive, she panicked. Home isolation was tough given her modest house, so she was shifted to a private Covid care centre.

Though everything was well, Muniratnamma continued feeling insecure and anxious.

Savita Bhat, another Covid patient from Bengaluru, too had hardly smiled from the day she entered the Covid care centre. Although the centre was equipped with all facilities, the very thought of being infected with the virus kept her up all night.

It was during such a crucial time that age-old traditional games were brought into the picture. Lasaha, a Bengaluru-based start-up, making eco-friendly traditional games, sent a kit containing a few game sets to the centre.

To the joy of doctors and volunteers, these games helped lighten the mood of people admitted at the centre and aided in their recovery.

“With all precautions, the patients who had mild symptoms were engaged in these games along with yoga. It not only kept them occupied all through the day but also gave them the right dose of nostalgia,” said Harish who volunteers at the centre.

“We had patients as young as two years as well as those above 80 years of age. The older patients introduced these games to youngsters, bridging the age gap,” he added.

Indeed, traditional board games like Chowka Bara, Huli Kuri aata, Dasha Guti, Ali Guli Mane, Pagade, Navakankari, and the familiar Haavu Eni Aata (Mokshapata) which have lost out to fancy and loud video games over the last two decades, have seen a revival during the Covid times.

Not just patients but also doctors, paramedical staff and volunteers working day-and-night away from their families are increasingly turning towards these games to relieve their stress.

“We played games like Chowka Bara and Huli Kuri aata during our free time in the green zone (area earmarked for non-Covid volunteers) at our Covid care centre in Banashankari in Bengaluru. It created a family-like bonding at the centre. Also, these games helped doctors cope with mood swings and depression,” said Vasant, a school principal and Covid volunteer.

For the homesick

For many children and their family members who have been home-bound during the lockdown, these games have proved to be an ideal source of entertainment.

“Earlier, we traditionally played Pagade only during Deepavali. But in May last year, we spotted these old Pagade and Kavade sets that had been lying in our wardrobe for years and began playing it with our school-going grandchildren. The charm of these games have made children so curious that they have given up mobile games,” said Krishnarao Desai of Dharwad.

Even professionals working from home, especially in cities, are finding solace in these games. “Though some of these ancient games can be played on mobile phones, the joy of playing it in the physical form is unmatched. It gives the much-needed break from screen time and binds our family,” said Amrita K S, an IT professional.

Reinventing games

With the demand for such traditional board games going up, some companies are working to introduce many more traditional games to the market.

“In the last one year, we have had more people showing interest in buying these games and with this, the families of the artisans working with us have been able to survive,” said T R Jagadish, director, Lasaha.

He said that they work with artisans from the toy town of Channapatna to get toys and pawns made of soft ivory wood or aale mara and coated with lacquer made from vegetable dyes.

This makes the toys eco-friendly and also safe for use by children. During the second wave of Covid, Lasaha distributed kits containing around eight board games and puzzles to around 20 Covid centres in Bengaluru, Shivamogga, Hubballi, Hosapate and Belagavi.

Jagadish explained that these games, along with providing entertainment, also help in improving concentration and sharpen sensory skills, which led rulers like Krishnaraja Wodeyar III to master and promote them.

“Games like Vimanam are like ancient-day simulators. They teach us strategy building and how to handle success and defeat,” he said and added that their research team has explored 20 more traditional games which they will be introducing shortly.

Usman Ali Khan (46), an artisan from Channapatna who is into toy making for the last 30 years, said that artisans from the entire town were struggling to make ends meet. The consolation is that they have been getting some orders for traditional pawns and other games which are once again making their way into cities.

Covid restrictions

Another Bengaluru-based company Bellikirana, which has involved itself in making some of these traditional games, has been waiting for the Covid restrictions to ease so that they can meet the demand for these games.

“Of late, we have had many grandparents buying games like Chowka Bara from us so that they can gift it to their grandchildren staying abroad. But we are unable to ship it due to Covid restrictions,” said M S Aruna, Director of Bellikirana.

Acknowledging that the demand for these games in the domestic market has increased, Aruna said that retailing will definitely help them but only bulk orders will enable them to get some profits.

“The women working with Bellikirana come from slum areas and they can earn a living only when we have bulk orders. Usually, corporates buy such games to give to foreign delegates as they showcase Indian heritage. But with the mobility of people affected, we only have walk-in customers,” said Aruna.

Aruna and her team also deal with cloth bag making and this inspired them to come up with Chowka Bara with unique Kutchi hand embroidery on it.

Some of these companies also provide videos with instructions and game rules with these games so that the younger generation can learn how to play them.