BENGALURU: A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out. from the old to the new – when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.” When Jawaharlal Nehru delivered those words, the unflinching struggle for India’s Independence became a part of the newly-born nation’s history and the present “solemn moment” was transformed into the promise for future. In that history, many distinguished fighters were left out to be only remembered in tales.
With years, their stories of the battle that unshackled India from the British Raj have been woven into the chapters of this country. Kelappan was from Kerala; Rani Gaidinliu hailed from Manipur, and Tanguturi Prakasam was from Hyderabad. They were separated by territory but their motive was singular, and it was to free their motherland from the grip of British rule. But the cruelty of history had pushed them into obscurity like many of the unsung heroes.
To celebrate 75 years of Independence would also mean recognising the contributions of such figures who “Rise like Lions after slumber/In unvanquishable number - Shake your chains to earth like dew/ Which in sleep had fallen on you/Ye are many – they are few,” as PB Shelley wrote in The Mask of Anarchy. If you are already looking them up on the internet, then there is a fun old-school way of doing this.
NGO SWARISilk and Wooden Art Research Institute, which works towards improving the living conditions of the silk and wood artisans, has come up with the card game Azaadi 1.0. The game comprises a deck of cards with 40 characters from the freedom struggle. Sreepriya Menon, one of the co-founders of the Ramangara based NGO, says the cards are about basic facts and trivia about freedom fighters.
“Most of the time, we don’t know all the people who were part of the freedom struggle, and their contribution,” she says, adding, “They might be familiar with the names because a road or a building could be named after them. But today’s generation doesn’t know about their role in India’s Independence, apart from reading in history books.
But how the movement gathered momentum in the country is unclear to many.” Some names might sound familiar because the freedom fighters came from a certain place or a community, and through this card game, the creators wanted to shed light on the lesser-known names. “In history, sometimes we don’t find representations from all the states.
The North Indians might know about those from their region but are completely oblivious about those from the south, and viceversa,” says Menon, adding that 40 freedom fighters have been chosen from various parts of the country in an eclectic mix and their contributions have been presented. The game was formulated during the pandemic to raise funds for families who lost their bread-winners. It was also the NGO’s way to draw attention of people towards the community.
However, Menon says, this is a way to bring people back to manual games rather than the digital. “It’s a memory game. It’s a fun way of learning history and at the same time it’s a strategy game that can be played with the family,” reveals Menon, adding that the cards can be played in two ways. Get the game at `299 today.