CHENNAI: A close cousin to traditional games are mazes and labyrinths. Like most traditional board games, mazes and labyrinths are also often built on geometric patterns, although they tend to be far, far more complex than the grids of games. Mazes and labyrinths have fascinated humanity for thousands of years. They are intricate constructions, imbued with mystery and challenge, and sometimes we still don’t know their original purpose or why they were created.
What is the difference between a maze and a labyrinth? There are many theories but, generally speaking, a maze is a complex branching puzzle with numerous paths and dead ends; whereas a labyrinth is typically a single non branching path that leads to a central point and is believed to have been used for meditation or ritualistic purposes.
Perhaps the most well-known labyrinth comes from Greek mythology and the labyrinth of Crete. According to stories, the labyrinth was constructed to house and trap Minotaur, a monstrous mythological creature, with the body of a man and the head of a bull. Located beneath the palace of Knossos, it was believed to be so intricately designed that no one could escape its winding passages.
Interestingly, closer home in India, there are many labyrinths that we can see. In Lucknow, in the Bhul Bhulaiya at Bada Imambara is what is believed to be a complex structure — a network of interconnected passages and considered an architectural marvel.
However, a true labyrinth can be found in Goa — a circular one at Pansoimol in South Goa. This is carved into the ground and looks like a more circular version of the labyrinth of Crete. Numerous prehistoric rock carvings nearby indicate that perhaps this labyrinth is also exceedingly old.
In south India, in Gedimedu, near Pollachi, is a square labyrinth that seems to be similar in style to the labyrinth of Crete. These are puzzles we don’t understand. How did these similar labyrinths get created across the world?
Another such more recent example is the maze outside the Sudama temple in Porbandar, Gujarat. Dedicated to the friendship between Krishna and Sudama, some believe passing through the maze cleanses you of sins, but perhaps it is a symbol of eternal friendship and the childhood that they shared.CHENNAI:
Over the years these labyrinths found themselves on the floors of monuments and often came to be called pavement mazes. People would walk along its path sometimes in contemplation but sometimes out of sheer curiosity to explore the winding and complex route represented by it. Its mystery fascinated many people, and they found their way into the garden with landscape mazes in many estates designed both as amusement and also a symbol of the prestige and wealth of the owner.
Perhaps in more recent times people remember the maze through which Harry Potter navigated the final challenge in the book Goblet of Fire — a maze which was supposed to make him the winner of the Triwizard Tournament but instead transported both him and Cedric Diggory to Lord Voldemort.
Some of you are perhaps aware of the game we used to play, which looks like a circular labyrinth with tiny silver balls that we try to manoeuvre through the maze into the cup in the centre. We have played this game as children, little knowing that it perhaps had its roots in such complex labyrinths from long, long ago.
Are labyrinths architectural curiosities or are they profound symbols that represent human experience and its complexity? No matter what they are, the human response to the labyrinth is to embrace the journey and find our way through the twists and turns of fate — perhaps a symbolic journey to our life itself.