BENGALURU: Who hasn’t been fascinated by tops? It used to be one of the most commonplace of toys among children, with most of us being in awe of how they would spin and almost seem motionless while doing so, often barely moving from one spot. The game of Bambaram, also also called Buguri in Karnataka and Lattu in Urdu, is one special type of spinning top game that has captivated children.
“Bambaram involves what is commonly known as a flick top, in which the top is set spinning by winding and then unwinding a rope around it,” says Vinita Sidhartha of Kreeda Games, which revives and promotes traditional gaming. “The bambaram consists of a wooden top with a nail that is used to spin it, and a length of rope to set it spinning. What is special is that this game is played across the world in exactly the same format but just with different names.”
So how is Bambaram played? It can be played by several players at a time, and they have to have the toss, or the ‘Goes’. This is decided by seeing who can spin his top and pick it back up using the rope the quickest. This tests the skill of the player in catching back the top using the shortest rope length possible. While the tops that complete the toss are kept in the centre of a circle, the ones that did complete it will then try to spin their tops over them, trying to break the centre formation and get them out of the circle.
While landing your bambaram on those inside the circle, the nail would leave a mark known as aakkar; the best player’s bambaram will have the least number of aakkars. Often, to minimise damage to their best bambarams, players would keep a spare one inside to receive aakkars, while using their good ones to inflict them on others.
“I used to play this as a group of 10 in the streets near my house. After releasing my top on the ground, if it hits any other bambaram then you win! This was called as Aakkar Adi in local language,” says Natarajan Sankararaman (53). “We then keep the top which was hit in the centre and each of us try to hit it with our tops. At the end of the game, the losers top at the end would be completely battered!”
While Bambaram was popular among children, Vinita says that over time its popularity has waned due to lack of quality tops. “Recently there was a fad in which these new age tops called Beyblades were very popular. But as the trend of being ethnic is chic these days, the game is making a slow comeback and there is more enthusiasm towards bambaram. You also learn certain skill sets such as motor skills and hand-eye coordination. It also improves your reflexes,” she adds.