The Game of Stones

Games have always been a part of our lives. Be it the run and chase or gully cricket which we used to play in our childhood or the one-day test series and IPL/ISL matches we watch as adults, these games have become embedded into our culture. One such game which everyone’s parents will know about is the game of five stones. Known by different names in different parts of the country, we can be strongly opinionated that we are united by ‘five stones’.

The pacheta or the five-stones game requires five stones. Image Source: Kabyashree

Gone are those days when summer vacations were the best part of our lives. The usual visits to 'Nani ke Ghar, probably located in the suburban or rural areas, were the best vacations of our lives. The different cuisines we could try out along with the mouth-watering sweets and desserts have a different place in our fond memories.

The afternoons would be hot and the elders would take a short nap after lunch. While the little ones would sit on some porch or balcony, with adequate air passing by and begin playing their games. On one hand, the conversations would range from stories about ghosts to gods transforming into beggars and asking for food. On the other, games like ‘Chidiya udd’, ‘aao milo shilo shaalo’, and ‘raja-mantri-chor-sipahi” would be quite common.

One such game that was quite common was ‘sang-guti’ or ‘dhop-guti’. Popularly known as the game of five stones, kids would walk around finding five small pebbles to play this game with. The pebbles would have to be of the correct size, i.e. about 1 cm in diameter (which would fit in those tiny hands of 10-year-olds) and must not have any sharp edges. The second factor would be important as it might hurt someone with its edges. Once the five stones were selected, there was no point in delaying playing the game.

The origin of the five-stones games remains unknown. Image source: Kabyashree.

In northeast India, the game of five stones was played using pebbles. This could be said to be true for almost the whole of India, but certain places used other products. In the coastal regions of Orissa, five stones were played using shells. In the Konkan region, cowrie shells were used. Again, in some parts of Rajasthan, lac stones were used to play this game.

The game has got different names. Kallanga or anjankal in Tamil, Kooka in Gujarati, Tulo in Ladakh, Kajikayallu in Telengana,Geetay in Punjabi, Kaudi in Odisha, Pacheta in Rajasthan and so on. Unlike games like UNO, whose rules vary based on the players; five stones have had the same rules since the old times.

This game is played with two or more people and the rules are quite simple. The more the merrier in games like five pebbles. A player has to throw one pebble up in the air and pick up the rest of the pebbles from the ground within that limited period without letting that one pebble fall on the ground and catch it in the end. The next round goes by, throwing one pebble and lifting the pebbles in the ground in pairs. This way 5 rounds are played. The player completing the five rounds in a limited number of attempts is declared the winner.

Learning a new trend from Instagram can be in vogue presently. The popularity of a game, as simple as the five stones, and its travel from one corner of the globe to another is quite fascinating. For some, it is an age-old game originating in Asia and then globe-trotting to other continents. For others, it is an ancient game originating in Greece whose resemblance could be found in the Illiad and Odyssey.

Known as ‘knucklebones’, in some parts of the world, the playing pieces of five stones were of actual bones. Usually, sheep legs were used to play the game. This was more like a gambling game in early times like the game of dice and sometimes, it was used to tell the future. The game, considered to be the ancestor of the modern game called Jack, was probably introduced to other parts of the world by the Romans. The Romans learnt about this game during the famous Trojan War.

Collecting in ones-twos-threes-fours, going under the arch and stables and later jumping the ditch are the eight different levels of the game of five stones. Anyone who completes first becomes the undisputed winner. In some places, small pouches filled with rice, sand, salt, lentil or gram are used to play five stones.

Such traditional games can make us relive our childhood days. It is indeed exciting to discover that every city/state in India had played the game at one point in time. Technology has taken root and therefore these games got lost with time. But the generation that played this game lives on.