A Visit to Bhavani Vidyalaya - An Eye Opener

A school in Jaipur which focuses on teaching autistic and specially-abled children is using a variety of traditional board games to tap into the inner energies of these children.

Board games whether oriental or occidental are now being used to arrest the progression of several forms of dementia including Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Medical journals like the Lancet and Jama have in the recent past carried articles about controlled experiments conducted on patients diagnosed with dementia. The latter were taught to play a variety of board games for a period of several months and they were tested for any changes in the neural and motor skills. It was found that there was a marked improvement.

Back in India, in Jaipur, there is this wonderful organisation, Bhavani Vidyalaya which works exclusively with children with autism, dyslexia and a host of other related ailments. The founder of Bhavani Vidyalaya, Smt. Vimala Venkatesan, and a team of teachers and volunteers have dedicated themselves to the cause of these children.

Smt. Vimala Venkatesan learnt about Kreedaa Kaushalya through internet and came down to Mysuru in 2013 exculsively to visit our exhibition. On seeing a huge collection of board games there, she came up with the idea that children playing these games could improve their neural and motor skills including life skills.

She bought dozens of these games from us. She also learnt to play all these games at the play-section in our exhibition. She is now using these traditional board games to encourage the learning process in the children at her special school. There are regular sessions of playing board games for these specially-abled children.

Raghu and I visited this school on 11 January 2017. It was a very cold day, Smt. Vimala Venkatesan treated us with tea and snacks. She and her teachers gave us a pleasant surprise by organising an impromptu board games play session by the children of the school.

The lady in orange saree and fawn coloured shawl is Smt. Vimala Venkatesan

Photography: Raghu Dharmendra

A Quick Game Before a Rickety Ride

There is something common about rickshaw-drivers across India. No staid living room with artistic game boards for them; a patch of shade, some small pebbles, piece of brick with which to draw a diagram of a game and the rickshaw-drivers with their chariots parked, hunker down for a game.

Two of us (R.G. Singh and Raghu Dharmendra) from the research team of Ramsons Kala Pratishtana (RKP) in the course of our peregrinations have chanced upon many groups of rickshaw-drivers playing impromptu traditional board games while waiting for customers.

A brief over-the-shoulder look at some of these gamesters follows:

In the year 2007, we were staying in Koppala, a district headquarter in north Karnataka, a few kilometers away from Kinhala where we wanted to meet traditional wood craft artisans. Looking for an auto rickshaw, we strolled towards the DC’s office which is looks like a poor imitation of the Vidhana Soudha at Bengaluru.

Auto rickshaw drivers engaged in a game of Adu Huli Ata at Koppala

In the rough road just in front of the entrance to DC's office was a makeshift autorickshaw stand with a few autos parked and the khaki clad drivers grouped in a semi-circle looking down at three of their comrades. The centre of their attention was a triangular slab of broken brick and concrete having some scribbled lines, on closer inspection it proved to be the diagram of the game, 'Adu Huli Ata’ (Goats and Tigers).

Jaipur is another city of palaces apart from Mysore, but there is a lesser-known side to Jaipur that we discovered on our visit in the year 2009. We were at the Jawaharlal Nehru Marg pausing before the ‘House of Pre-owned Cars’ drawn by the sight of two middle-aged men. They were migrant Bengali cycle-rickshaw riders and they were waiting for clients. But what intrigued us was the game they were playing. It was the traditional Chauka Bara which for some strange reason the two men insisted on calling it, ‘Changa Bu.’ They had drawn the diagram in chalk on the sidewalk, pebbles and stones served as pawns, tamarind seeds served as dice; two bricks served as convenient seats while playing the game.

R.G. Singh interacting with cycle rickshaw riders who were playing Changa Bu at Jaipur

Badami is a well-known heritage town, its famous rock-cut temples are remarkable for their exquisite architecture and sculpture. In the centre of the town we saw a group of men under a tree cheering their two friends who were engaged in a game of Chauka Baka (Chakara as it is locally known). Among the two contestants, one was dressed in the typical north Karnataka dhoti and a ‘Gandhi’ cap that was balanced at a precarious angle on his head. The opponent, when not throwing cowrie shells with alacrity, drove a Tempo trax ferrying passengers by the dozen.

A game of Chauka Bara under a tree at Badami

The first thing that transfixes you as you approach Tiruvannamalai is the sacred hill of Arunachala, in its avatar as Agni-lingam. We, the research team from RKP had spent the better part of the hour at the ancient Arunachaleshwara temple, seeking out evidences of traditional board games. We were now in front of the Sheshadri swami ashram wondering if something like a restaurant lay behind the phalanx of autos parked in front of the ashram. Dodging the traffic and arriving in front of the inn we discovered a small shrine dedicated to Mariamma and right there in front of the shrine drawn in sharp lines was the game diagram of ‘Daya Kattam’ which is the Tamil Nadu version of ‘Pagaday.’

Auto rickshaw drivers playing Daya Kattam in Tiruvannamalai

Playing board games is not restricted to these rickshaw-drivers but is universal in its appeal. The dinne or pyol or just plain veranda of houses and temples becomes an arena for a joust of Goats and Tigers, Haralu Guni Manay, Chauka Bara, Pagaday and scores of other board games for common men, women and children.

Photography: Raghu Dharmendra

Harmony Celebrate Age - Games of Yore

Harmony - Celebrate Age is the magazine for silver citizens. In the October 2016 issue of this magazine, Kreedaa Kaushalya was featured (Games of Yore) on its 65th page with seven colour photographs. Six photographs carried the images of our products while the 7th showed a granny and her grand daughter enjoying a game of Haralu guni manay (Indian Mancala) which was made from papier machie.

Board Game Studies Colloquium XX - Programme

Tue 16 May 2017

17.00: Pre-Colloquium Boardgame Café Meet-Up

Bastard Café
Huset, Rådhusstræde 13, Ground Floor, 1466 Copenhagen K

Wed 17 May 2017

8.30-9.15: Registration

Room 15A.0.13 (Main Colloquium Venue)
University of Copenhagen, South Campus, Karen Blixens Plads 8, 2300 Copenhagen S

9.15-10.00: Opening Address

Dr Irving L. Finkel, Assistant Keeper, British Museum, UK
Princes on the Floor of the Playroom

10.00-10.30: Coffee Break

10.30-12.00: Session 1a & 1b

1a) Tracing History I (Room 15A.0.13)
10.30-11.00: Marco Tibaldini: Minor Update about Board Games in Rome: Enigmatic Board Games in Early Catholic Contexts
11.00-11.30: Jonas Richter: Glückshaus: The Game of 7
11.30-12.00: Jakob Gloger: The Mystery of the Black 26-Sided Die

1b) Models, Metaphors, Meanings I (Room 27.1.49)
10.30-11.00: Marisa Uberti: The Symbolic Meanings of the Merels Board
11.00-11.30: Maria Schetelich: From India to Europe and Back: Comparing War Mentalities in Chess Variants through the Ages
11.30-12.00: Iris Ridder: Dame Fortune and God's Providence: A Conceptual Metaphor Analysis of a Swedish Dice Game Book from the 17th Century

12.00-13.30: Lunch Break

13.30-15.00: Session 2

Ancient Games (Room 15A.0.13)
13.30-14.00: Jennifer Genovese: Love Divination Games in Ancient Greece
14.00-14.30: Jiri Jakl: Board Games in Pre-Islamic Indonesia: Finds of Gaming Implements from Shipwreck Sites Considered against Old Javanese and Classical Malay Textual Evidence
14.30-15.00: Jacob Schmidt-Madsen: Phanjika Revisited: Notes On the Early History of Pachisi

15.00-15.30: Coffee Break

15.30-17.00: Session 3

Games Beyond Play (Room 15A.0.13)
15.30-16.00: Espen Aarseth: Does Senet Still Exist? The Ontology of a Game without Rules
16.00-16.30: Greger Sundin: Hainhofer at Play: The Games of an Art Cabinet
16.30-17.00: Ute L. Rettberg: Game Over: The End of Three Decades of Research on the Game of Chaupad

17.00-20.00: Opening Reception

Lunch Room & Terrace
Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, Building 10, 3rd Floor

Thu 18 May 2017

9.15-10.00: Special Address

Dr Mary Flanagan, Professor of Film and Media Studies, Dartmouth College, US TBA

10.00-10.30: Coffee Break

10.30-12.00: Session 4a & 4b

4a) Modern Times (Room 15A.0.13)
10.30-11.00: Antonio José Planelis de la Maza: Will Technology Set Us Free? The Impact of Digital Systems in Non-Digital Gaming Experiences
11.00-11.30: Ida Kathrine Hammeleff Jørgensen: Adaptations in Play: Strategies of Adaptation in Digital and Non-Digital Games
11.30-12.00: Ivan Mosca: Inductive Settings, Deductive Mechanics, and How Pandemic Legacy Connects Them

4b) Education & Psychology (Room 27.1.49)
10.30-11.00: Kira van Bebber-Beeg & Katarina Herde: Board Games in Learning Environments
11.00-11.30: Andreas Lieberoth, Ira Ellefsen, Marlene Nielsen & Charlotte Jonasson: Psychological Dynamics in the Popular Board Game Boom: Playing To Get Together or Getting Together To Play? An Ethnographic Study of Settlers of Catan as a Social Boundary Object
11.30-12.00: Christian Schmidt: Games and Mind

12.00-13.30: Lunch Break

13.30-14.30: Session 5

Classifying Games (Room 15A.0.13)
13.30-14.00: Ulrich Schädler: Murray's Classification of Board Games
14.00-14.30: David King: Dexterity: Between Choice and Randomness

14.30: Cultural Afternoon

Option a) Group visit to the brand new interactive exhibition space at the Experimentarium science centre (https://www.experimentarium.dk/en/)
Option b) Explore the city on your own (map & suggestions provided)

Fri 19 May 2017

9.15-10.00: Special Address

Dr Barbara Caré, Post Doctoral Researcher of Classical Archaeology, University of Turin, IT TBA

10.00-10.30: Coffee Break

10.30-12.00: Session 6a & 6b

6a) Tracing History II (Room 15A.0.13)
10.30-11.00: Bruce Whitehill: Uneven Forces: Asymmetrical Games
11.00-11.30: Eddie Duggan: The Royal Pastime of Cupid: Two Early English Association Copies
11.30-12.00: Fred Horn: Metropolis: The First Real Sci-Fi Game

6b) Models, Metaphors, Meanings II (Room 27.1.49)
10.30-11.00: Mattia Thibault: The Semiotics of Boardgames
11.00-11.30: Mikael Jakobsson: Stories of Colonialism Retold Somewhat Lovingly
11.30-12.00: Melissa J. Rogerson, Martin Gibbs & Wally Smith: How Hobbyists Value Boardgames

12.00-13.30: Lunch Break

13.30-15.00: Session 7

Draughts Studies (Room 15A.0.13)
13.30-14.00: Alex de Voogt: Checkers Play in Multiple Societies: An Exploration of the Past and Future
14.00-14.30: Liuwe Westra: The Role of Frisian Draughts in the International Development of Draughts
14.30-15.00: Peter Michaelsen: Dablot Prejjesne and Tavelspel: A Sámi and North Swedish Game

15.00-15.30: Coffee Break

15.30-17.00: Session 8

Social Aspects (Room 15A.0.13)
15.30-16.00: Walter Crist: Prehistoric Cypriot Games: Space, Status, and Social Complexity
16.00-16.30: Michael A. Conrad: Mechanisms of Trust: Board Games as Models of Social Reliability in the Middle Ages
16.30-17.00: Francesca Berti: Playing S’Cianco (Tip-cat): A Traditional Street Game Reawakens the City of Verona

18.00: Pre-Dinner Canal Walk

On foot (or by Metro) from the colloquium venue to the restaurant

19.00: Colloquium Dinner

Spiseloppen
Bådsmandsstræde 43, 1407 Christiania

Sat 20 May 2017

9.15-10.00: Special Address

Dr Bjarne Toft, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, University of Southern Denmark, DK. Piet Hein and John Nash: Beautiful Minds

10.00-10.30: Coffee Break

10.30-12.00: Session 9

Mathematics (Room 15A.0.13)
10.30-11.00: Lisa Rougetet & Abdallah Saffidine: The Roots of Combinatorial Game Theory: History and Foresights
11.00-11.30: Michał Stajszczak: Super Farmer: The First Board Game Using Twelve-Sided Dice
11.30-12.00: Jorge Nuno Silva & João Pedro Neto: How dramatic is Snakes & Ladders?

12.00-13.00: Goodbyes & Farewells

Song about Traditional Games

I just spoke over phone with Mr. Venkat Bharadwaj who called me to appreciate our work on board games, which he discovered through this blog. He is a film-maker and has directed Kannada movies 'A Day in the City' and 'Bablusha'. In the movie Bablusha, there is a song about traditional games.

Here is a link to this melodious song.

Musings on the Book 'Traditional Indian Boardgames'

Following is a review of our book which has been voluntarily penned by Mr. K.R. Kumar, Retired Deputy Director of Central Food Technology and Research Institute, Mysuru.

The need for an authentic, concise, practical guide on the traditional board games, especially with reference to India is fully met in this newly published book (Ramsons Kala Prathistana, 2016), p. 80, with nearly 120 drawings and sketches.

The book is authored by the enthusiastic trio, Sri. R.G. Singh, Sri. H.S. Dharmendra and Dr. C.R. Dileep Kumar, after their extensive 'study-and-discussion' tours. 

The contents comprise the chapters on introduction, the enchanting world of board games, their origin encompassing the contribution of Mysore Maharaja, how the games (20) are played, their rules to be followed and the details on the requirements so that the games can be enjoyed fully.

The book is extensively illustrated with appropriate site photographs and illustrative paintings on topical subjects, executed by renowned artists, which convey authenticity to the subject detailed.

They have indicated the details regarding the board games immortalised in brick and stone which can still be seen by the curious players by visiting the places.

The book is only one of its kind and can serve as a games compendium for ready use.

A note on the sources and references would have enhanced the utility of the book. 

The authors deserve full appreciation for bringing out a book sought by novices and game connoiseurs 

Reviewer,

K.R.Kumar

Deputy Director (Rtd), CFTRI, Mysuru.

You can read more about this book here.

Stick Dice Varieties

Stick dice are mainstay in the game of Pagaday, Pachisi, Dayakattam. Without stick dice, the game of Pagaday is incomplete. Two or three stick dice are rubbed together within palms and are rolled on the floor. These are rubbed in the palm so as to create randomness. This rubbing and rolling of stick dice is kind of a sacred ritual of this royal game.

These dice are synonymous with the tragic game of Sabha Parva in Mahabharata. Shakuni owns a pair of loaded dice which listen to its master. 

But what we are having here are stick dice produced by Ramsons Kala Pratishtana in various material in different shapes and sizes. These Dice are available at Ramsons, Handicrafts Sales Emporium at Mysuru.

Hand-painted Plain Stick Dice. Wood. 75 x 14 mm. Pips: 1,3,4,6

Ornate Four-faced Stick Dice. Padauk Wood. 95 x 13mm. Pips: 1,2,5,6

Squat Four-faced Stick Dice. Padauk Wood. 52 x 14 mm. Pips: 1,2,5,6

Plain Four-faced Stick Dice. Black Wood. 75 x 14 mm. Pips: 1,2,5,6

Mridanga shaped Four-faced Stick Dice. Black Wood. 75 x 14 mm. Pips: 1,2,5,6

Six-faced Stick Dice. Black Wood. 75 x 15 mm. Pips: 1,2,3,4,5,6

Mridanga shape Four-faced Stick Dice. Camel bone. 75 x 14 mm. Pips: 1,3,4,6

Four-faced Plain Stick Dice. Camel bone. 60 x 7 mm. Pips: 1,3,4,6

Six-faced Stick Dice. Camel Bone. 75 x 13 mm. Pips: 1,2,3,4,5,6

Plain Four-faced Stick Dice. Sheesham Wood. 75 x 12 mm. Pips: 1,3,4,6

Plain Four-faced Stick Dice. Sheesham Wood. 74 x 18 mm. Pips: 1,3,4,6

Plain Four-faced Stick Dice. Solid Brass. 48 x 8 mm. Pips: 1,3,4,6

Ornate Four-faced Stick Dice. Solid Brass. 68 x 9 mm. Pips: 1,3,4,6