THE PEOPLE

GAMES AND AMUSEMENTS

The general population of the district is still mainly bound to the soil and less exposed to the growing rationalism and modern scientific thought. Entertainment and amusement of the common people thus continue to be associated with religious festivals or agricultural operations. The religious minded Hindus and especially the ladies attend different kinds of religious expositions such as purana, pravacana, katha, etc., usually. held at temples. Purana is the reading from religious epics such as Ramayana, Bhagvat, Mahabharat, and expounding it in the language of the people. Pravacanas are learned religious discourses and kirtans are musical discourses describing God and religion. Under the changing economic and social life such religious discourses attract less people. However, they are still popular and serve as powerful media for the spread of social and cultural ideas. Bhajans, singing of devotional songs, is more popular among the illiterate masses. Such pravacanas kirtans and bhajans are performed usually on days like Ram navami, Hanuman Jayanti, Gokulastami, Kalanavami, Catur masa (i.e., four months from the 11th of Asadha to the 11th of Kartik). Gokulastami, Kalanavami and Mangalagaur in Sravan are occasions for the display of goph, tipri, kala and govinda dances and phugadi and zimma games. Ganes and Gaurl festivals are celebrated privately but at some of the urban centres public festivals for Ganapati are also celebrated when entertainment programmes by local artists and other cultural activities are arranged.

Besides these, there are tamasas, loknatyas, acrobatic deeds by strolling acrobats, wrestling, cart racing, bull-fighting, cock-fighting, etc., in which the rural folk take much interest and great pride. In recent times, cinema shows are becoming very popular with the result that other forms of entertainment are now losing popular support.

There are only a few cinema houses in Bid district, and these are mostly concentrated at the urban centres. Vyayamsalas, gymnasiums, talims and akhadas on the other hand are fairly distributed all over. Bhajan mandals and kirtan sansthas are patronised by grown-ups. Sports and recreation clubs are only recently developing and in 1964, there were only two such institutions one each at Bid and at Gevrai.

Games

Different types of games suitable for their age and sex are played by people. Babies prefer colourful rattles (khulkhule), squeaking toy-animals, pipes, whistles, carts and motor cars. Formerly, these were made mostly of wood or rubber. Recently they are made of colourful plastic. Further on, children play imitative games imitating the grown-ups whose role they aspire to perform later in life. A horse driver, a cartman, a motor driver, a teacher, a doctor are popular with the boys and doll-dressing among girls. Besides, bhovara (tops), gotya (marbles), patang (kite-flying) are more popular with boys and jhoke (swinging), skipping, sagargote (kind of nuts) and bhatukali (house-making) are much played by girls. Lapandav (hide and seek), andhali kosimbir (blind man's buff), etc., are played by boys and girls alike. Bhenda (competition of songs) and puzzles (ukhane) are also popular.

A number of team games are played. Of these cendu phali (cricket), abadhabi, kurghodi (horse riders), cor police, kho kho, langadi and hututu or kabaddi are very popular. Last three of these are played in schools and inter-school matches.

Among grown-ups, cards and songatya (draughts) and buddhibal (chess) are commonly played. In recent times, western games like cricket, table-tennis, badminton, bridge, etc., are becoming popular.