The real games Goa plays, and should

In the age of PUBG, let there be ligorio. This sums up the mood of Games of Goa held in Loutolim over the last weekend. The young and the young at heart went back to their roots and played traditional games in Goan villages. Café reports from ground zero
The real games Goa plays, and should
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Over the last weekend, children, adults, young adults and the not-so-young spent time throwing balls on coconut shells, marking crosses on the ground, drawing lines on the soil, running and so on. It was back to the days of yore when children remained children and grown-ups remained childish.

Facebook was passé, Instagram wasn’t as cool, phones were put away at The Big Foot museum area in Loutolim, as it became the playground for those who went back to their roots.

A revival or renewal of the traditional games is the absolute need of the hour. Looking all around us, what is frightening is that we see children facing a strange affliction of being anti social and subjectively disassociated from the real world. Whether it is academics or a stress-relieving game, the computer or the mobile is always the first and best resource.

They all came and they all played. It was a stressful activity as many dormant muscles were awakened but they played. One school even had the girls pitching the one legged hops called a Hen-Fight. It was a real entertainer. The children would not give up.

Maendra J A Alvares, Founder, Ancestral Goa, Loutolim, narrated what he saw and felt. “What I watched and what amazed and pleased was the regrouping and the arrangement and execution of the next moves, being planned. I am sure this was never done by them and so charmed were they that they took it forward, out and into their own familiar spaces.”

Alvares observes that this was the life that our ancestors enjoyed. What was commonplace became standard and what was regular became traditional. It was a simple case of cause and effect mechanics. This got passed down from generation with variants being introduced merely to improvise. This became tradition.

Prajal Sakhardande, history professor, opines that this needs to be reinforced as a vital aspect of our social history and it is in these that Goa, of the past will be preserved for posterity. Children of today have never experienced all these games. After the 1980s, I doubt anybody has played them. So the revival of traditional heritage games is very important that they can be put back in the public domain.

“As I recollect my childhood, a huge part of me fills with emotions and memories of my childhood friends. These treasured memories are solidly built around those times, which were spent on the sports field; enjoying the game, forging relationships of friendship and well, sometimes cheating to win”, says Sakhardande.

Traditional Goan games were and are reason to forge a bond of love between Niz Goenkars and our motherland. It was a moment in time to frolic in the lap of the motherland and to be caressed with the soil and medals of hurts, which we can look back with pride.

The traditional Goan Games like ‘lobio’ (7 Tiles), ‘Ghoddyani’ (marbles), ‘bhotyani’ (large size cashew seeds), ‘dhorchiani’ (catching cook), ‘lhipchyami’ (hide& seek), ‘attyani’ (rolling the metal wheels) , ‘koindo balle' (gulli danda) did not just help children grow up secularly irrespective of caste, creed and religion, but indirectly, it physically exercised our bodies and minds respecting human values and acquiring sportsmanship.

Many who have enjoyed such childhoods feel that the youth of today have not understood the hidden benefits of indulging in the open air, field games and energizing the soul and body in the true spirit of maintenance of health. They fall prey to gym advertisements while incurring huge revenue payouts, and many a times ending back to square one.

“A routine, to find time and learn 'Time Management' for free, to get on the field and indulge in traditional Goan games shall ensure a generation of Goans, which will grow to love the land and simultaneously acquire a healthy, strong immunity body. These Goan games must be aggressively documented and recorded, before they get lost in the sands of time,” says Sanjeev Sardesai, Promoter of Goan Heritage.

The traditional Goan games are very important because they are not just culture and tradition markers but if repackaged properly can be relevant and cool in today’s world of PUBG and mobile and tablet games. At the Games of Goa festival, when they saw the games, learnt and played them, they got interested. Some of them came over again on the second day to participate. One of the parents sent the organizers a picture of the colony kids playing ‘logorio’ game the very next day after visiting Games of Goa Festival.

But like a Kabaddi, Kushti these other games can also be revived and marketed to youth if given a chance. Just like our land of Goa, our language Konkani, our music and instruments like ghumot, dhol, taaso etc, and these games are integral identity of Goa. Besides, they are significant in terms of the benefits they offer if you play them. “Like Chess some of the indoor games are high on mental stimulation and build focus and concentration. Outdoor games are a complete exercise for the body. Most importantly they are easy to play as they do not require expensive equipment. The important aspect of these games is they are interwoven with the topography of the Goan land, the seasons, fruits, seeds and other material that comes from local trees and plants, said Datta Prasad Shetkar, Organiser of Tedx Panjim and brand consultant and the one who conceptualized the games.

He adds, “Nobody will play these games only because they are traditional, but because they are interesting and fun. So unless we make sure they are good enough to get people away from their mobiles and play these, and are marketed as such, nobody would play them. If done in the right way, the youth would love to be a part of these.”

These games in fact are as normal as they come. Varun Hegde, Founder, Soul Traveling, which partnered Shetkar in organising the games said “We used to play with things available like ‘pidyache’ bats, ‘koinde baal’, ‘Logorio’ and what not. This is a continuous process; the festival is just a start. We need to make sure we sustain it throughout the year - not just as one festival. We plan to introduce these in schools, colleges, corporates and across the spectrum. The challenge is huge, but it looks quite possible.

As we say - In the age of PUBG, let’s be a Logorio.

 VOICES

Traditional games revive childhood memories. I also played some old games which give different feeling rather than playing technological games, as it doesn't give you any physical strength.

PRAJYOT VERLEKAR (Young Media person from Colvale)

Our childhood played games are significant because when you grow older, you have these amazing memories of what you did as a child and how spending time with friends after school was looked forward to instead of texting them.

ANNOUSHKA FERNANDES (Mass Com Student)

Since I’m from a village I got much exposure to this games and have played few in my childhood. One can hardly find anyone playing even simple games 'lipchelyani' or 'khambyani' because today's young generationwere never introduced to such games.

PRACHI NAIK (Student)

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