Joy of outdoor games
January 13, 2008
This topic might make most of us go back to the good old days of childhood when we used to run around and play in the hot and burning sun without the pressure of the world upon us.Now the entire world(at least the majority) is mesmerized by the non real world of computer games. Part of the reason for this shift is the lack of good grounds and the lack of togetherness that is persisting in today s world.
We might play the popular football or cricket game on PC but its no where near to the joy that we get while playing outdoor football or even cricket. I can still remember the days when I used to play cricket in the burning hot sun in my village, sometimes even bare foot. Nothing can match the joy that we get when we flex some muscles while playin these outdoor games. I also remember my school days during which I used to wait for holidays so that i can play cricket, hide and seek,laggoree(A local game in which we throw the ball at stones and regroup all the stones while avoiding getting hit by the ball), lock and key,badminton and many more innovative games. Most of these games used to be played in the streets and they do not require a play ground. At least I used to play them on the streets. I used to leave my house in the morning and come back for lunch and then again go out and return home at night.Playing with many people is surely fun to the core. Just the assembly of so many people was a joy to be in.
Only in villages can we get to see groups of children playing outdoor games.Its becoming more and more of a rare scene in the cities.I can see school kids already carrying the burden of t he world on their tender shoulders. There might come a time when games will be restricted to indoor games or even worse only the computer games.There s nothing wrong in playing on the computer as I myself do get hooked on to the computer games but from time to time playing outdoor games relaxes the mind and also its a very good exercise to our body.Even the PET classes in the schools are taken by other subject teachers in most of the schools.Also many of the schools do not even have a playground in their school premises. All this is sad and the future is going to be even more worse.At this point I remember the popular animated series that comes on disney channel “Recess”. Its focus is mainly on the outdoor games.
There is a popular saying that “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”, its time we changed it to something like this “All work and only playing a on computer makes Jack a dull boy”.
There are still a lot more things that I could have written but it might get boring so I leave it to the people reading this blog to comment and share their experiences.
January 13, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Good schools have a very good blend of sports and academics. Playing on roads as you said, It depends on where you are put up and how the environment is. I used to play on the road in front of my house, we were a gang of 10 people. Now everyone is scattered and moreover the traffic has multiplied. Playing out is surely fun, but who says PC games are more fun, they might be a small temporary attraction, say lust
but the real joy of playing out will creep back after a few days. I would love to play badminton and was ready to go to college everyday, but I haven’t got a player yet. I have asked all those who would possibly play but quite unfortunate. Some games or sports can be played with people around, but as everyone has some or the other work now a days, its quite evident that Video Games, PC games and now of late PSP, X box, PS2,3 etc provide the power to beat boredom. If you had five friends around you, most probably everyone would be glued to the PC for a week or so, then eventually people tend to play out. There are thousand and eight ways to deal with the issue and go in depth, guess I will stop here. 
Cheers, and welcome back.
January 13, 2008 at 10:03 pm
nice layout man!!!….just strtd and so many hits already??? kallakrae kosu!!!
yeah wht ur saying is very much true. kids have forgotten that a world exists outside their classes and houses. but many of these so called “international schools” are promoting activites like swimming and horse riding and all so in a way it is being inculcated into their curriculum. but then again this represents a very small proportion of school going kids. parents should make sure their kids play outdoors every evening. also what is more lacking in todays children is general exposure to the outside world that kids have in rural places but hardly in cities. Urban kids multi-task so much that their parents keep them protected so that they can solely focus on their goals. Due to this the kids lose out vital exposure to the outside world. they lose that sense of responsibility and ability to do things independently because their parents spoon feed them. this most of all must change.
January 13, 2008 at 11:10 pm
hmm theres nothing much for me to say after ulag’s comment.
all i can say is unlike outdoor games, comp games don’t refresh us instead they tire us more.
and.. i was one pudaang in lock and key
January 14, 2008 at 12:09 pm
whn i used to live in apts we used to love to play hide n seek at night…that was amazing….esp sometimes the power would go off and then it used to be creepy and fun to play!!!!…and to make it more fun we used to have “dhappa” on the back!!!
January 14, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Ye that sure is fun da.I have had many such unforgettable experiences myself. Infact I can still remember my school days when i used to play for almost 16 hours a day
January 17, 2008 at 8:52 pm
nice article..i remember those days when i was in 6th or 7th i used to be only girl in the street playing cricket,lagori with 10 guys inspite of grandma’s yells:).even now i play badminton with 10yr old kids;)
January 17, 2008 at 9:11 pm
hmm very true.