Gilli danda, india’s form of cricket (Games and sports originated in india)

There must be many games that you would have played in your childhood with your colony friends in the lane outside your house. I’m sure you have no idea where did those games originate from or who made the rules right? That’s because you only have fun while playing it!

Gilli Danda; Source: NCERT

Since when do you think games have been prevalent in the world? Do you remember the first game you ever played in the lane outside your house with the other children of your colony? Do you know the first ever game to have ever existed in India? To what time does it go back? Although I’m not sure, this particular game might be the first ever game that you played. Gilli Danda was introduced during the age of the Mauryan empire.

At the time when the world wasn’t divided by countries, it was more united than anything else. Later when fate struck and Asia as a continent was divided, a lot of things were lost in the separation. This loss further continued when India and Pakistan parted ways for their respective independence.

Now, you must be thinking that the losses that occurred, were in terms of treasure, culture, and more heavy weighing aspects. As much as that is true, India did lose a lot of culture and treasures. However, the losses just didn’t include the heavy weighed things but some light weighted hidden treasures waiting to be found as well.

One such unimaginable treasure was this game called Gilli Danda. Funny name for a game right? Well if you find this funny, another shocker is coming right up. This game has its own International Federation the name of Gilli Danda International Federation. Unimaginable right? So what this game has in hiding, that it has a federation for it?

To give you an idea, Gilli danda is a similar game to cricket. Just like there’s a bat in cricket, the bat in this game is the danda which is used to hit the Gilli which can be thought of as the ball, in relation to cricket.

By creating a circle, one player adjusts the gilli on a stone in a slanted way. Then comes the utilization of the danda to hit the Gilli at the end raised in the air, which flips it up high. While the Gilli is up in the air, the player strikes it again, hitting it beyond what many would consider possible. The player who hits the gilli is expected to run and contact a pre-concurred point outside the circle before the Gilli is recovered by a rival. This part of the game is like acquiring runs in cricket. There is no authoritative number of players or groups predestined as such. Gilli-danda can be played as individuals or as teams as well.

Commoners played the game in the city, in some cases being joined by individuals from the regal family. Over the long run, social disgrace made higher social layers for the royal personalities to leave it, making the game for the regular population.

India was a tremendous country with a significant part of South Asia added to its repertoire. However, as the geological limits were created, India was partitioned and new nations appeared. Be that as it may, individuals never lost their enthusiasm for Gilli Danda.

Soon, Gilli Danda didn’t just remain a game of India but spread across the world. As much chance it had in becoming a game played worldwide, much like cricket, People played according to their principles and hence, there was no uniform development of the game. It kept on leftover as a novice game just played for tomfoolery and fun.

Gilli-Danda is gradually dissipating off India, like a lot of other local and traditional games. The coming of Cricket, the way of life, and the present have all resulted in the decay of the game that was once considered to be a famous youth game in India.

To portray the difference between how India was and functioned in the old times as compared to how it functions in the present, Munshi Premchand used the game of Gilli Danda to do the work for him.

It was in 2016 that the International Federation settled in Noida in Uttar Pradesh and approached the countries playing the game. The Federation is dealing with reestablishing this deep-rooted customary Indian game by drafting a standard book and advancing it expertly.

Have you played Gilli Danda anytime in your childhood? If not, you should give it a try once. You may like it more than cricket! But if yes, I’m sure you agree with me for the game to gain international recognition and help us as viewers to relive our childhoods through the players on the field in front of us.