Manish Kumar
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, August 28: Vijay Singh, a 62-year-old resident of Palasuni, still remembers the golden days when he was a teenager and he and his friends used to anxiously wait for playtime. Memories of collecting pebbles from cupboards and flocking to the playground every evening still offer succour to Singh and his friends.
Singh, a retired railway official, regrets that a number of social and seasonal games are vanishing with time due to the intrusion of technology and change in social dynamics. He said, “The city has now undergone huge changes. A lot of games we used to play and many of which were quite popular even till the late 90s are losing popularity. Our grandchildren seem to have shifted their interests elsewhere.”
Similar thoughts were expressed by Rakesh Patel, a septuagenarian from Nayapalli. He said, “What is really disturbing these days is that children are now more inclined to virtual games and shifting to unhealthy lifestyles. We still remember we often used to play games like seven-stones, marbles and gilli-danda while girls used to play kit-kit. It seems these games are vanishing with time.”
Many in the city, too, believe several seasonal games are losing their erstwhile connect. Rekha Behera, a 53-year-old housewife, said, “There were many seasonal games that people earlier used to play wholeheartedly. There were a number of games associated with big festivals like Makarsankranti, Diwali and Holi but it seems, with time, they are vanishing. Making small houses (‘garonda’) during Diwali and making paper boats during the rainy season seem to have been replaced by video games.”
Experts from the city blame social and technological reasons for changing social dynamics, tastes and preferences. MG Bage, associate professor of sociology at Utkal University, said, “These are ramifications of changing social dynamics. Now the concept of joint families is on the verge of extinction. The social interaction among members of society is declining making it difficult for society to engage in social pursuits like games. The attitude of people towards socialisation is now undergoing transformation.”
Bage points out that Mayurbhanj had been a centre of seasonal activities in the state where archery events were organised during Makarsankranti but these events are not finding many takers nowadays.
Many citizens believe urban planning is also to blame. “City culture is apartment culture. Playgrounds are being converted into apartments leaving little space for children to play. Besides the dearth of open spaces, intrusion of technology and virtual games has replaced age-old games. That apart, the popularity of a few games like cricket and tennis that enjoy huge media coverage has also somewhat overshadowed the simple joys of traditional games,” said Bhagirathi Behera, a retired IFS officer.