Some outdoor games include:
Pambaram(a.k.a spinning top) -
The top I used is different from the one in the picture in that mine had grooves on the bottom v-side. I truly sucked in this game. The only way I knew how to spin the top was with the elaborate but slow release from hand(Tie the cord starting from the bottom of the pambaram towards the top and around it. Release the inverted pambaram in a forward motion). This action was ill suited for serious games involving pambaram. The best mode of delivery was releasing the pambaram in a whiplash action from the top(after tying the cord around it). One game involved players standing around a circle and trying to break their opponents pambaram when it is spinning. A circle is drawn and players are expected to put their pambaram in the centre of the circle. The gullible ones are usually chosen by a preliminary procedure. Before the game, everyone is asked to spin their pambaram and catch it in the palm of their hand when it starts spinning. Those who do it last(or who fails to make his pambaram spin) keep their pambarams in the circle. Given my skill level, I usually lent my pambaram to a relative who way better in it than me(and it stood me in a good stead for a very long time). If there was no one available who could play well for me, I refused to participate instead taking a ringside view. The intent of the game is to break the pambaram or at the least, get them out of the circle. The person who came first in the preliminary selection is asked to go first. One always made sure the iron tip at the bottom of the pambaram was sharp. The contest could get quite heated as the funds for pambaram purchase came usually from parents who didnt quite see the game in the same way their kids did.
Goli(a.k.a Marbles) - The version of goli I played had 13 holes. Coming to think of it, we could have made it 18 if golf hadnt gone there first. The order of precedence was determined by us throwing our golis from a specific point to a line drawn in the sand. Whoever threw nearest to the line, got to go first. You started from behind a line and tried to get the marble inside the hole. You could also use yours to hit your opponent's and deprive him of position. This was especially useful if both of you were close to the hole and you werent especially interested in playing nice. If I remember it correctly, it took a long time for the game to get over.
Gilli
It probably qualifies as a dangerous game. It involves hitting a small, oblong wooden piece(sharpened at its ends) with a cylindrical wooden piece. Even though it is usually played between teams, I played it on an individual basis. Needless to say, I was bad at it. The first individual(we chose it by toss of a coin) placed the smaller, sharper piece across a hole in the ground and used the larger piece as leverage to scoop it from the ground. After hitting it, he would place the larger piece where the smaller piece used to be. The opposing individual would try to catch the smaller piece when it was in the air. If he was successful, then he would take strike and the whole thing would start from the beginning. If he didnt catch it, he would throw the smaller piece towards larger piece to try to hit it. If he was successful, then the strike would go to him. If he wasnt successful, the first individual will continue. The smaller piece is made to jump into the air by hitting on its edges with the larger piece. When it is airborne, the smaller piece will be hit as far as possible using the larger piece. Some times, you are allowed to better position the smaller piece for a monster hit by tapping on it when it is airborne(It provides a much better sense of control over the range and direction of the hit). The measurement of the distance provides the score for the individual who hit it. The distance is measured using the larger piece as a measuring stick. The danger in the game comes from possibility of injury to eyes from the sharp edges of the smaller piece.
Seven stones - My favourite of them all mainly because of the running and skill involved. It is a team game with no upper bounds for number of people which made it perfect in our school. I lived 5 minutes from school but my love for this game made me go to school an hour early in the morning and stay late after school. It might be this game that made my mother pass on laundry duties for my own clothes by 6th standard. By the time the classes started, we were sweating like pigs. I think I played this game from 6th to 12th standard.
To me, the game represents the first time I can pinpoint, with clarity, the horrifying and pernicious effects of caste even among kids. There have been subsequent instances I have noticed it but this was the first. In 7th standard, we formed 2 teams, informally identified as Brahmins and Non Brahmins because of the caste make up of each team. There was very minimal crossover between the teams and a non-hindu student was free to choose between the two. This was serious stuff for kids of this age and I remember how we used to keep track of the score throughout the year. It sometimes spilled over onto other activities but the rivalry wasnt as heated in other spheres. The fact that the game allowed for physical violence to be inflicted on your opposition, no doubt added to the tension. My 7th standard year was especially noteworthy for a very long string of unbroken games. By the end of that year, I think we pulled back from the adversarial posture and got back to being normal friends. But, the damage was done and when I played the game again after my 12th standard exams, I was very relieved to play just the game without the negative baggage.
Game: The game itself is pretty simple. A circle is drawn in sand and seven flat stones(flatter the stones are, the less interesting the game is) are placed on top of each other within the circle. One team tries to collapse the pile of stones by using a tennis(or rubber) ball from around 6-7 feet afar(usually behind a line drawn for this purpose) and then try to reassemble it while the other team tries to take out every person on the other team using the ball before they can complete the assembly. The line through the middle of the circle(parallel to the throwing line) represents the boundary between the teams even though the fielding team can have people all around the throwing team. One team chooses to throw first and the other team gets to field. The choice is usually decided by toss of a coin. Each individual from the throwing team gets 3 chances to collapse the pile of stones. Underhanded throws are not allowed. But, in a nod to present day chuckers in cricket, side arm action is permitted and sometimes encouraged. The fielding team usually catches the ball and aims to prevent the throwing team from re-arranging the pile. This is usually done by hitting the members of the opposition with the ball. It is not rare to find people getting hit in strange or vulnerable places in their body. The game gets over when the throwing team can assemble the pile successfully or the fielding team can get all the members of the throwing team out.
Strategic considerations: The strategies for the teams vary.
(ii)The throwers have different methods to catch the fielding team off guard. He can throw the ball as fast as he can towards the pile and find that the ball has beaten the fielding team giving him precious time. But, it might so happen that the pace of the ball might scatter the stones wider and make the task more difficult as there is no rule against fielding team physically harassing the throwing team members the moment the pile collapses. Some throwers prefer to hit the ground just before the pile and take the pace off the ball thereby allowing the pile to collapse within the circle but that might mean the fielding team has an easier time hitting the throwing team members. Some throwers try to focus on the top of the pile and take off 2 or 3 stones at high speeds so that the close in members can assemble them in the short time they get before the fielding team recovers the ball. This usually is successful when the thrower has a good side arm action. Some others try to 'hit the deck' with the ball towards the base of the pile so that the stones collapse within the circle while the ball takes an awkward jump above the fielders' head.
(iii) The intention of the fielding team is mostly to get the stronger members of the throwing team out of the field before focussing on the weaker ones. Normally, tag teams of fielders can be very effective in cornering throwers trying to get to the pile from the outside. Once there is an advantage in terms of numbers for the fielding side, the deal usually gets sealed unless the throwing team members can come up with sneak attacks on the pile.
(iv) The strength of the throws from the fielding team when they hit the throwing team members is usually hard and stinging. If there is previous enmity between the 2 teams, the hits can be brutal with the exposed(or particularly vulnerable) regions being the targets. Luck sometimes can run out for teams if the ball happens to fall into water. The hit is usually very painful as it is delivered close quarters when the person is running away.
French cricket: Sometimes, the craze for cricket did not match our resources. The guy with the SS bat or the cricket ball(after all, in south tamilnadu, we were true cricketers who insisted on playing with brand name cricket bats and leather cricket ball, not the tennis ball that I later found to be the mainstay of chennai cricket) might be unhappy that we didnt give him the opening batsman or bowler slot and so he would sulk at home while we assembled at the ground. Out of that grew demand for this type of cricket which was simple in its execution and very indian in nature inspite of its name. There are 2 teams as in normal cricket but here the bowling was replaced by throwing. There was no stumps or pads. The batsman stands inside a circle with his legs close together with a bat ready to receive throws(in tennis ball) from the bowler who stands about 6 - 7 feet afar. The fielding team usually sorrounds him. The bowler is only a namesake as any fielder can throw, from any direction, at the batsman after the first ball. The batsman cannot get out of the circle. There is no running involved and hence, no non-striker. Runs are scored by batsman hitting the ball thrown at him and rotating the bat around him. One rotation of the bat counts one run. The cricket rules on boundaries applies here too. If, in a hurry to make runs, he loses control of his bat, he gets out. The opposition might be kind enough to get the bat back to him and allow him to play. Once he gets out, the next batsman comes in. The way to get the batsman out are as follows:
(i) Ball hits the batsman under his knee, front or back,
(ii) He hits the ball in the air and a fielder catches it.
(iii) The batsman steps out of the circle. Some sticklers to rules take this
very seriously.
Aaviyam This was a game I played very infrequently as a result of which I remember very few aspects of it. I vaguely recall jumping over the backs of other kids while announcing the type of jump.
Then there was the team games of Kabaddi and cricket which are very well known, at least within India.
