Good old games...

As a kid growing up in Hyderabad was fun, we used to play so many games in and outside school. Pittoo was one of those games I really enjoyed playing when I was young. To give a bit of background - I spent earlier part of my childhood in Kachiguda (very close to Tarakrama theatre and Lingampally Road (not the station!)) in Hyderabad. Every day I would come back at 4 o clock from school by bus (I had an Aaya who took care of me - picked me up from home, baby sat me during lunch hour and dropped me back home by accompanying me in the bus), eat some snack and hit the gullies. A group or 10 or 12 children all set to play Pittoo or Seven stones as we used to call it as well.

Basically there would be seven stones which were stacked, and we would divide ourselves into two teams and stand on either side of the stacked stones. Each person from the team would take turns by throwing the ball at the stones to drop it (its mostly torn down by the very first person on the first ball). And that person's team is now responsible to stack it however the other team members would not allow them to do so and hit them with the ball by passing it to each other when the other team members try to approach the stones to stack them up. If the ball hits the opponent that team is 'out', if the other team manages to stack it back before they are hit by the ball, they win.

I dont know if I have explained it very well but nevertheless it was just fun playing it, not to mention my back would hurt for days when I was attacked by the ball! I wonder if the kids still play that game? I wonder if kids still religiously play for 1-2 hrs after school in the colony like before. I really want to know?

Then there were other games like Mud and Stone or Mud and Water not sure what it's called but you would have to step on stones in order not to get 'out'. Then there was Lock and Key - where in the denner (is this how its spelt?) would lock you and some other person who is not already locked is the key and unlocks you :). Then the endless sessions of Name-Place-Animal-Thing I would have had like so many others at that time, in the bus, in class whenever we had spare time. Then another game called 'Killer' was popular - played with chits and one person was the killer and one person the police and killer winks and tries to kill everyone and police has to guess who the killer is :))

I also remember playing another game - not sure what it was called (although I think I mostly played it in school when quite young) - all girls sat in a circle and the denner would go round and round and drop the handkerchief behind a person and that person had to go catch the denner before he occupies your seat. And all the girls in the circle would sit with their heads bent and hands covering the eyes from the sides (so that they don't see where the denner is throwing the hanky) and sing the following:

"I sent a letter to my father, on the way i dropped it, the postman came and picked it up and put it in his pockettt! pockettt!!, Ducks in the water quack! quack! quack!, Ducks in the water quack! quack! quack!"

(Phew I had to sing it in my mind to remember the words!)

Now I remember another one:

"Oranges and Leeemonns, sold for a penny, all the school girls are so mannny, the grass is green, the rose is red, remember me till I am dead! dead! dead!"

I dont think I cane explain this game now but am sure most of us who have done their schooling in 80's (in Hyd) would know! :)

'Kitchen set' was an essential part of every girl's toys collection. I have also spent hours on hot summer afternoons in the verandah with other girls cooking with leaves and mud and water for god knows what! :) Then there was the 'five stones' fever; all thegirls at school were obsessed with playing five stones, finally the teachers and sisters (nuns) were so fed up with us they grabbed all the stones if they ever saw us playing with it :( I lost so many sets of stones like that. Then I think we discovered another game with some shells I dont remember it clearly we would had to keep hitting those shells (like striker on the carrom board!).....(some reason I dont seem to recollect it very well!). I also remember Thokudu- billa as well (or was it Chickkada billa?). Then in school during lunch we also played Throwball - I remember a few of us girls had accumulated cash and bought the ball and played every afternoon and we were very competitive and I think we had quite a few misunderstanding between us girls :))

Then Carroms (Carrom-Board has always been there - an essential part of summer holidays especially when there is a power cut :)) Then among board games the one I played the most was Saanp-Seedi/Snakes and Ladders, Ludo, Cricket, Chinese checkers, Business and Chess of course.

As we grew up and we were allowed to go play by ourselves (now we had moved to Marredpally, Secunderabad) we would go cycling, play on the swing to see who would go higher etc The burden at school had also increased. Most of the free periods at school we would now spend chatting - non stop on everything and anything. Obviously this is what we resorted to finally in high school up to 11th-12th (besides the Throwball fever in between) - endless chatting and gossiping. Finally when I was in R.K Puram the only physical activity was the long walks I had with my friend (from my place - crossing Robert Road go to Officers Mess and from there walk back home through Thimmaya quarters!). Well I was never athletic as a kid yet I managed to play all these games have so much fun - well I almost never regretted that I wasn't that athletic :)

Wow! those games we played back then were so very simple yet so much fun I cant imagine me being was so content with such simple pleasures in life. All your worried about is the upcoming tests and exams and no pressure and stress from anyone or anything! At the most I would have girly fights, cry and make up so quickly!

...Wonder when and how did I turned into this ambitious homo sapien!....;)