The names Chowka Bara, Alaguli Mane, Kattayam Vilayattu, or Kalanay Balaney, may evoke a sense of nostalgia in some, and perhaps curiosity, in others who may not know what these words mean.

Nazariya, Kreeda and The Courtyard’s collaboration in this upcoming workshop will cater to both these segments, through their workshop on these ancient games. Titled ‘Let the sacred games begin’, the workshop is part of Nazariya’s Forgotten Cultures Workshop Series.

“One of the objectives of the workshop is, of course, to have fun and enjoy. The other objective is to introduce, or reintroduce traditional games to people,” says Vinita Sidhartha, founder, Kreeda Games. “There are people who have played them before, but have forgotten them; there are people who have seen them or have heard of them, and there people who haven’t heard about them. Through these games, one can build interactions between them, what is also important is that somewhere along the way, we are in danger of losing our games.”

That is why, she says, the purpose of the workshop is to show why these games are still relevant today.

“Though preserving these ancient games for nostalgia is by itself important, we also need to preserve them because in our daily lives, we can learn from them, imbibe lessons from them. That is the third reason why we do this.”

There is learning at various levels in every single game, for children, teenagers and adults, she adds. As more and more people are exposed to the games, she hopes there is movement to preserve them. “And I have seen this over the last 15 years that I have been working on them.”

The games are also known to offer insights into Indian history, mythology, traditions, architecture and antiquity. “Every game comes with its own learning, it starts from the kind of materials we use to play them; to the thought, psychology, and sociology behind the game; and the associated folk tales. Sometimes it is about the types of material, at other times, it is about where you find these games, the kind of monuments, temples, where these games are found, all these in some way contribute to a better understanding of our own psyche as Indians.”

Additionally, many of these stories come from oral traditions, since the rules were never written down. “When more and more play, they trasmit their knowledge. This is a fantastic way of bridging generational gaps, and building relationships.” The workshop will take place at The Courtyard, 105, KH Road, on October 13, from 11 am to 1 pm. For details, call 7338677996.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Harshini Vakkalanta / October 11th, 2018