JOIN USImagine the gilli flying in an Indian valley surrounded by fans shouting ‘de ghumake’.
In Indian stories, children play wonderful games. If you pick up a book set in Assam, you may read of children playing oluguti-toluguti. This game is called lagori or pittu in other parts of the country. And if you read a book set in Karnataka, you may find the children in the books playing pagade, yelumane chowkabara or alugulimane. Sport, whether you play a game or read about it, is inspiring.
Here is a list of books, that you could try to get hold of and read.
*The King Who Played Marbles by HC Madan.
This is a hilarious tale about a young prince who wins a ‘war’ and ends up playing marbles with the enemy.
*The Sun Fairies by Swapna Dutta. Young children may find the idea fascinating that even sun fairies sometimes get bored playing hopscotch and hide-and-seek.
*Cricket! by Sandhya Rao. The book has very nice pictures of children playing cricket. Who wins? Who loses? Who cares? So long as the game goes on. The book is bilingual, with just a line of text on each page in English and another Indian language.
*Kolhapur to Beijing-Freestyle by Mala Kumar, Pratham Books. This is the story of Virdhawal Khade who became the first Indian swimmer to win a medal at an Asian Games. And he was also adjudged the best athlete in the recently held National Games at Ranchi.
And, if you want to write your own stories, enter the Disney Cricket Capers contest. Place yourself on the pitch and tell your cricket story - your personal story with cricket, how our cricket stars inspired you, motivated you and got you to the top!