CHENNAI: The senior journalist of the Chennai City Express recently shared with me photos of games she had found etched on the floor of the Nellaiappar Temple in Tirunelveli. Over the years, everyone who knows me has figured out that the best gift they can bring me is photographs of games inscribed on the floors of temples and monuments they visit! In fact, thanks to me they actually look at the floors of temples and not just the sculptures, the idols and the architecture.
Among the photos she shared was an image of three concentric squares interconnected by lines. She mentioned that she had seen this game in many places around the temple.
This game known as Dahdi is still very, very popular in the Telugu heartland. It is one of the most complex of three-in-a-row games requiring players to not only align their pieces, but plan their strategy for that move, and the moves to come.
A recent workshop I did in Hyderabad indicated that the game was still popular and vibrant, however, when you cross south to Tamil Nadu, nobody seems to remember how to play the game. What’s interesting is that this particular design has been seen in many temples across the state of Tamil Nadu. While people may not remember the rules of many games in totality, some brief memories still exist. However, every person I have asked has drawn a blank when it came to this game.
How does a game disappear from memory? Were there changing fashions in games much like other aspects of life? Was this game may be brought in by Telugu artisans and then disappeared with their departure? Did the waning influence of the Telugu Cholas have an impact on the popularity of the game? There are numerous interesting questions that arise, and we may never know the answers, but the more we question, the more we start to understand how intrinsically our traditional games were interwoven with life.
Another interesting aspect of this game grid is that many identify it as a temple plan. In fact, archaeologists discovered an old etching believed that the design was a temple plan. It was when I spoke to them and showed them the game board that things became interesting. To understand this, I had to understand the basics of temple architecture.
The design of a Hindu temple follows a geometrical design which is often a symmetrical, self-repeating structure of concentric squares. The outermost layer signifies aspects of Asuras and evil, the next inner concentric layer signifies human life, and the third layer signifies aspects of Devas and good. When represented geometrically the resemblance to the game of Dahdi is uncanny. Did the game inspire the plan, or did the plan inspire the game? At first glance, it looks like the plan inspired the game because temples have been built for thousands of years, and we have little or no evidence of what games have been played, and of how long these games have been played.
What makes it even more interesting is that evidence of this game has been found in many other countries around the world including, according to reports, a recently excavated 500-year-old Polish castle.
A study of inscriptions of games found on the floors of temples and monuments throws up more and more questions. We may never know the answers, but we can only speculate. Do share photos of games you find when you explore this wonderful country and perhaps you too can join me on this quest to learn more about our traditional games.
Vinita Sidhartha
vinita@kreedagmes.com
The writer is an author and the founder of Kreeda, an organisation reviving traditional games