Traditional Games of India: Games of Alignment By Vinita Sidhartha India has a rich culture of traditional games. From the well-known and popular dice game described in the Mahabharatha to the numerous mythological stories of the games played by Shiva and Parvathi to the marble courts of Chaupad in Fatehpur Sikri built by Emperor Akbar where colourfully dressed women from his harem moved around instead of game pieces, we have grown up hearing about traditional games being played. Thanks to the stories, many believe that the traditional games of India are limited to dice and chess. But that is not the case. In the homes of the common folk, games were traditionally played by families with all generations coming together around a board drawn on the floor with chalk or even etched into the floor. In the year 1793, Harikrishna, son of Venkatram, born in Aurangabad in South Maharashtra, concluded his book Kreedakausalyam in which he describes the famous games of his time. He says, and I paraphrase:
Tarang
Dahdi at Agatheeswarar Temple, Chennai, India
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