Traditional games of South Asia



South Asia has many traditional games and sports. Two of them, kabaddi and kho-kho, are played at the South Asian Games, with kabaddi also featuring at the Asian Games. Many of these games are played across the entire subcontinent under different names and with some rule variations, while some of these games may be played only in certain countries or regions.

History
Some traditional South Asian games, such as kabaddi, kho-kho, and atya-patya, are believed to be thousands of years old, dating back to ancient India. Kho-kho, for example, dates back to at least the fourth century BC. Many South Asian games likely reflect characteristics of traditional life in the subcontinent; for example, the Bengali hopscotch game of ekka-dokka (related to Stapoo and Chindro) may reflect the concepts of land division and ownership of property in ancient times.

After the British colonisation of the subcontinent which peaked in the 1800s and afterwards, Western sports such as cricket, football, and hockey began to be followed to a greater extent, to the detriment of the traditional games. The modern advent of urbanisation, globalisation (which attracted people towards more globally popular games), and technology (which gave people digital forms of entertainment such as the Internet, television, and video games) have further diminished the traditional South Asian sports. Additional reasons include religious extremism in some areas, which has restricted people from playing certain games, and lack of governmental support.

However, some professional leagues are now being started for certain traditional sports, such as the Pro Kabaddi League, Ultimate Kho Kho, and Pro Panja League, which are beginning to revive interest in these sports and even globalise them; these leagues are now some of the most-watched competitions in the subcontinent.

Gillidanda
Gillidanda or gulli danda is a game where players attempt to hit a stick as far as possible to score points. It has similarities to the popular South Asian sport of cricket, as well as to traditional games around the world, such as tipcat.

Gutte
Gutte (similar to Meergati and Bilghotti in Pakistan) involves players throwing up and then grabbing stones on the ground, while ensuring none of the stones falls from the air to the ground.

Dark room
Dark room is the same as hide-and-seek, except that it is played in an entirely dark room.

Donkey Donkey
Donkey Donkey (similar to the Pakistani Beech ki Billi) is a game in which two players attempt to throw a ball to each other, while a player in the middle tries to catch it.

Maram pitti
Maram Pitti (similar to Pakistan's Maran Kuttai) is similar to dodgeball.

Seven stones
In the game of seven stones (known by several other names in various regions), one team throws a ball at a pile of stones and then attempts to rebuild the pile, while the other team tries to eliminate the first team's players by throwing the ball at them.

Deciding who the denner is
In many South Asian variations of tag, the player meant to tag the other players is known as the "denner". There are various ways of selecting the denner, such as Saa Boo Three (also known as pugam pugai), in which a group of three players face one of their hands up or down, and if one of the players faces their hand the opposite way of the other two, then they are chosen as the denner.

Freeze tag
Freeze tag (also known as Baraf Paani in North-India and Pakistan, and as Borof Paani in Bangladesh) involves players becoming "frozen" in place when tagged by an opponent, but becoming unfrozen when tagged by a teammate.

Aankh micholi
Aankh micholi (similar to Bangladesh's Kanamachi) is a form of blindfolded tag.

Kokla chappaki
This game (similar to Rumal Chor and Bengal's Rumal Churi) is similar to duck, duck, goose.

Snakes and ladders
Another traditional game called Ludo, is mostly played at the same board on the other side.Four participants can play this game with the help of dice.