Opinion | Tip-cat : Our forgotten Local Game

Whenever we talk about games, we fondly remember our traditional game tip-cat usually known as (gulli-danda). Every game provides you the amusement, enjoyment, but this game particularly gives you the muscle power, accuracy, and temperament and technique of striking billets. This was considered as great game usually being played on holiday’s and sundays during my school going days. As soon as harvest seasons comes to an end children moved towards open paddy fields in almost every local area to engage in tip-cat(gulli-danda) game. On Sundays And holidays were the best considered for this game. Those days of holding short billet of wood not more than 3 to 5 inches with large stick similar to baseball are unforgettable.

The game is played with one long as well as short stick. The short stick is continuously on the ground and is sprung right into the air by touching the tip with the long stick to make sure that it can travel through the air as for as possible. I was the good player of this game especially when throwing the billet to strike it with long stick in order to get the player out. The throwing of short stick needs the technique to get opposition down. The happy and playful time can’t be brought back. In almost every village children used to play this game either after 4pm Or on Sunday. During those days were purely mesmerizing. In my village there were many spots where we play, but the paddy field post harvesting were almost busy place where children play different games.

        The game particularly tip-cat(gulli-danda) usually streaches from one to two hours. I might have been 15 years old when I was a good player of this game. There were also many other good players of this game. Fighting and trifling were the part of this game. I often play with my classmates as soon as the school time is over. Among my classmates there used to be the great contest especially on holidays and vacation days. Absolutely those days were really cheerful, no worries, no responsibilities, no depression, no backbiting, above all nothing that cause hurt to ones sentiments. Contemporary time is full of all adversities, where a person can hardly imagine of good things to come. Hardly this game is being hardly played in my village and neighbouring areas as modern gadgets has replaced everything, be it education, be it shopping, be it cuisines, be it coaching, be it browsing, be job whatever we imagine nothing remains it a physical activities. That is why the saying goes like this, old time is treasure with hefty of joy and contentment.

Tip- cat(gulli-danda) has great recreational value, as it gives enough exercise to your body and mind. It surely sublimates ones instincts. We sometimes forget our meals such was the enthusiasm. This game is fastly dwindling as present generation hardly knows about local games. In the childhood days, this game was our passion. Children of today are accustomed to gadgets such as smartphones, laptops etc, this may be dangerous for their mental health, therefore traditional games are better for children’s overall development than modern games. Traditional games can be used as learning tool to help children develop their cognitive, language, emotional, social and physical abilities as well. Traditional games particularly tip-cat(gulli-danda) helps childrens breathing, circulation, digestion and excretory systems work regularly and contributes to their development.

   Traditional games especially (gulli-danda) tend to be creative for children because in making of tools as a means of play, they make them themselves and use tools that come from surrounding environment. I recall my days of childhood when we used to make sticks and billets from willow twigs, that often used to be strong and light to carry. Availability of such tools for gulli-danda were in the autumn season. Paddy fields in the same season get huge rush of school going children to play various local games. Besides my classmates, some seniors used to play with us, there always happens to be great contest between juniors and seniors.

    Today kids spend time playing virtual games in virtual environments. They play away everyday from life and the streets. They are unaware of social games of the past. They were once children’s game that coloured our lives. In the past, the games played between the neighborhoods interms of socialization and psychological development and the groups of friends in streets/villages were important.Let our past games remain intact in generations to come.

Qysar ul Islam Shah teacher by profession, hails from Sonannar darpora Lolab.