With the exception of Kabadi and Kho Kho, a plethora of very rich traditional folk games of Odisha are rapidly fading away from the memories of the masses. Bagh-Cheli and Bati, etc have for millennia remained indispensable means of recreation for the common man. However, in recent decades, shrinking rural populace and growing popularity of western forms of entertainment have gnawed away at the very root of this beautiful, melodious and ingenious sporting tradition of ours.
Dr Sanjaya Kumar Bag, who holds a PhD on traditional sports of western Odisha, collected around 110 traditional games during his field work for the doctoral programme. Among them, excluding a very few, most of the games are usually been played throughout Odisha. Traditional games differ a lot from the popular western games. Folk games are neither organized nor do they have any complexities. They don’t have any rigid set of rules, no central authority. They even don’t require any special equipment. laws and names of the games vary from region to region.
According to Dr Bag, “Some games are related with the socio-cultural and religious activities of the community where the performances take place.” Puchi and Cowry are played by the maiden girls on the eve of Kumar Purnima. Gedi is played by the youths of western Odisha during the period Rath Yatra and Saptapuri Amabasya. It’s played to safeguard their villages from the goddess of disease. Badi Khela is played by herdsmen (Gauda) during Dola festival remembering lord Krishna. Cowry Khela and Mudi lucha are the two most common ritual games in our marriage festivals.
Furthermore, games played by children like Chasabasa, Gharbanaba, Hatabika and Kathajiba in western Odisha region are purely based on day to day rural activities. Some games also have their origin in ancient literatures of India. Popular Mankada-Kumbhira (monkey-crocodile) game has emanated from the ancient Sanskrit text Pachatantra. In addition to this, players of traditional games also sing various lovely short poems and Dhaga Dhamali during every stage of the games to make it more lively and aesthetic.
Unfortunately, these days rarely do we find youths playing traditional games. Modern forms of entertainment like TV, movies, computer and various western games have replaced the traditional ones. Malaya Kumar Panda, a class VIII student of Budharaja High School, Sambalpur, informed, “We (his class mates and other boys of the school) sometimes play gilli-danda, Bisa Amruta and kabaddi.”
Apart from these three, he failed to recognize numerous other traditional games. When asked about his most favorite game, came the reply, “I like cricket, football and badminton.” His is not an isolated example, rather a banal one. What seems most unfortunate is that the onslaught of westernization has caused maximum damage to our womenfolk. Barring only in rural areas, girls in urban and semi-urban areas have almost completely forgotten women-friendly traditional games like Puchi, Kacha-Kaudi and Kanjipata etc.
The prevailing cut throat competition in educational sectors is adding salt to the injury. Time devoted to the studies has increased manifold in recent years. Games are being played only to earn certificates, which will in turn get the players some jobs. Astoundingly wide varieties of traditional games show the beauty of the creative Indian mind. Folk games are the mirrors of our society. According to noted folklorist MK Mishra, “Folk games improve the physical skill, mathematical ability and intellectual capabilities of the players.” It’s high time we preserved our traditional games.