Express News Service
CHENNAI: Just when we were thinking that Monday mornings are all about beating the blues, Kreeda, an organisation that works to revive traditional Indian games, made us ‘unhate’ Monday this week. As part of the celebrations leading up to Madras week, Kreeda flagged off a month-long initiative, a roadshow to build awareness on traditional games, at GR Complex in Nandanam.
As employees from the complex were enjoying a game session of Aadu pulliattam, Panch kone, Bambaram, Gillidanda and kattam vilayattu, Vinita Siddhartha, founder of Kreeda, was overseeing the activities. She announced the slogan of the initiative, “Celebrate Chennai. Celebrate its Games.”
Vinitha, who was clad in a saree with a traditional daya kattam design on the pallu designed by Lakshmi Srinath, said, “This is our Kreeda Vandi,” pointing to a bright red car, plastered with images of pallanguzhi, paramapadham and other kattam games.
“Where ever I go, people ask me about the various existing games and they always want to learn more about traditional games. So, I decided to take it to people of all age groups and walks of life. I decorated a vehicle with images of different games and this vehicle will travel through 60 to 70 different locations in the city for over a month,” said Vinita.
The vehicle will visit schools, NGOs, orphanages, old age homes, offices, apartments and even metro stations. “When we approached the police for their consent to take the vehicle around for a month, they were extremely welcoming of the idea. In fact, they even suggested that we have a 'Paramapadham’ image on the car roof so that even passengers on a bus could get a view of the vehicle,” she smiled.
We shadowed Vinita and her Kreeda vandi to their first destination, Nalandaway’s office at Anna Nagar. As the team carried a set of tables to set up the games, Vinita and her team went on to give the employees some insight into the world of traditional games of Chennai. “I have played aadu pulli attam when I was young. It's exciting to learn more about it now, after so many years,” shared an employee.
Chennai is home to a wide range of traditional games and this initiative aims to celebrate the rich history of games that the city has to offer. “There is no fee or charge to play games from our 'Kreeda Vandi’, but if there are people who are willing to pay and play, they are more than welcome. The money will be used to buy traditional games and will be given to people who cannot afford it,” added Vinita.
(The roadshow will take place until August 22. For details, mail or call: info@kreedagames.com, 98417 48309)
