The Forgotten Games Of Our Childhood

The kids of our road were screaming. I peeped through the window and could see them playing with their football. It was only for 15 minutes and after that there was a pin drop silence in the road. They had already got bored and vanished. The kids either play football or do cycling. Sometimes I see them playing cricket or shuttle cock. Most of the time I see them talking, gossiping (Yes they do gossip about their friends, teachers and even parents!). Soon they start fighting and disperse. I always wonder, there are so many outdoor games which we used to play in our childhood, why don't these kids play such games! It will be a good exercise for their body, they will never get bored as well. Here are some of the games which we used to play in our childhood.

Run and catch - There are several variations of run and catch. 

1. Run and catch - One kid has to catch anyone from the group of kids who are running. Now the kid who is caught has to catch anyone from the group, and it goes on. 
2. Chain_cut - Two kids form a chain. A player is chosen who has to catch another player who has not formed a chain. So if there are 6 kids, one of them is denner and out of 5 there will be at least one player who is not in the chain. Kids keep running and form different chains and denner has to catch the one who is not in the chain.
3. Tomato - Same as the first method but the kid who is running can place hand on his head and shout 'tomato' loud. Now the denner can't catch him. 
4. Hop and catch - One of the players will hop using one leg and folding the other and catch the other players.
5. Blindfold and catch - One of the players will be blindfolded and has to catch other players who are running.

Fire in the mountain - One of the players stands in the middle and sings 'fire in the mountain'. The remaining kids run around him forming a circle signing 'run run run'. This continues for 'n' number of times and suddenly the player in the center says 'statue'. The one who makes movement is out or become the center player in the next round.

Stone or sand - One player will be a denner and chooses one element (stone or sand) and others should not stand on that chosen element. If they stand on it and denner catches, that player will be the next denner.

River or Bank - Some divider is chosen by the leader. The leader explains that one side of the line is the "river" and the other side of the line is the "bank". It is essential to be at the right spot at the right time. The facilitator then shouts out one of two commands - "river" or "bank" and the players must jump accordingly. If a player jumps when they are not supposed to, they are eliminated from the game. 

Four Stone - It requires four independent boxes to be drawn on the ground. One player each stands in the four boxes and tries to take the four stones placed at the centre without being caught by the chaser in the game.

Skipping rope games - Like run and catch, there are many variations of skipping rope game

1. Scissor jumps - Land with one foot forward, then on the next jump switch feet
2. Cross jumps - Land with feet crossed like an X, then apart, then crossed again
3. Duckie - Land with heels apart, toes and knees pointed in; then on next jump, put heels together and toes and knees pointed out
4. Swing - Land on one foot and swing the opposite leg out to the side, then switch on next jump
5. Snake - Have one person hold it at each end and wave it gently along the ground like a slithering snake, while other players attempt to jump over it. Take turns being the jumper and the snake-mover.

We also played other games like playing with the wooden top (lattoo), marbles, cycle tyre, glass bangle pieces, rubber ring, discus, etc., The other most played games were gilli danda, lagori, hide and seek, hopscotch, even shuttle cock and cricket.

We also used to play a lot of indoor games like different variations of hand-clapping game, board games like parcheesi, kanna dudi/chowka bhara, snake and ladder, ludo, carrom, chess, chinese checker, card games like rummy, mongoose, donkey, set, tenga, papad, etc., Pencil and paper games like name place animal things, joining the dots, thief police, tic-tac-toe etc., Also memory games, treasure hunt etc.,

All these games are on the verge of extinction. Even today's generation kids know some of the games mentioned above like hide and seek, hopscotch and may be few more, but you hardly see them playing those games. I have introduced most of the indoor games and some of the outdoor games to my daughter but she rarely plays those games. In fact one of our neighbor took initiative and taught lagori to the kids of our road. But they played it only for 2 days. 

May be 80s and early 90s born was the last generations to play outdoor and indoor games actively as they didn't have other distractions like television and smartphones. We used to play day and night without getting bored during vacations. When there was school, we played during lunch hour, and even in the evenings till it becomes pitch dark. All such games made our childhood more memorable.

The current generation kids have too many distractions, don't want to take the physical pain of playing outdoor and get bored playing indoor. They loose interest too fast in everything and can't bear each other for a long time. 

I wish I could go back in time, play all these games and live my childhood all over again!