Looking at the modern children,one striking difference between the childhood that the previous generation had and the one that this generation has is the lack of Indian or native games .Several traditional sports are still popular amongst kids in the urban and rural areas but they are restricted mainly to the households or neighbourhoods.
In the 1970’s, people used to play a variety of indoor and outdoor games that were the games of this soil.While some traditional sports are still being played mostly in rural areas. There are a few which have been long forgotten in this rapidly changing and evolving world.In a time of Play Stations, video games and gadgets, we all have almost forgotten the traditional games of India.
Nowadays almost all children play games like cricket,tennis and football.Nobody is playing games like kabaddi,goli,ghilli or indoor games like dhaayakattam,paramapadham,pallangozhi,paandi or aadupuliaattam.These games have a rich culture and heritage value and were tools of passing on some ancestral knowledge or the other.
They also sharpened our observational and math skills unlike the hit and run games of the west that are uni dimensional and strengthen only hand eye coordination.
Traditional games were not just games they were designed in such a way that one can develop lot of skills like logical thinking, building strategy, concentration,basic mathematics, aiming,and a lot more.Nowadays we develop these skills by paying money to centres that conduct personal davelopment courses.Traditional games act as learning aids.They teach us many things while playing,like to learn to win and lose, develop sensory skills, count,add, improve motor skills, identify colour, improve hand eye coordination and finally to have fun,either by playing the game or watching a game being played.
The value that we achieve by playing these games are more when compared to the games that we play nowadays.Some of the values that we gain are that they are environment friendly,we get a chance to learn about our culture and history,and an important thing is,it is suitable for all ages,so they increase the interaction between generations.Many modern games played around the world have their origin in these traditional games which is a pride to our country’s culture.
