Let’s hop to it!
CHENNAI: One of the most delightful and clear memories of those who remember and recollect their childhood and the games they played is hopscotch. Known by names such as Nondi or Pandi or Tokudu Billa or Kit Kit, hopscotch is also played in almost the same form in many other countries worldwide — as far away as New Zealand to Europe and the United States.
The essence of the game is a court, usually drawn on the sandy floor with a stick or a ground with a chalk piece. The court has numerous types of grids, the most popular being a grid of eight squares. Another one somewhat fancifully called airplane pandi, has a row of squares with two pairs of adjacent squares set in between.
One has to toss a flat stone on each of the squares sequentially, hop around the court, pick up the stone, and return home. The player must not miss a square, land on a line, or lose balance. Some versions of the game required you to hop onto the stone and push it with the same foot, sequentially through the squares. This naturally makes the game even more difficult, because it should not come to rest on a line. Yet another version has you hoping through the court with eyes closed. Again, stepping on a line is not an option — a version that truly challenges your perception of space and distance.
Most of the court is covered by hopping, but sometimes in two adjacent squares, particularly in the airplane version of the game, the player places both feet on the ground. In some cases, one square is marked with an X to indicate a rest square.
The fun of the game is clear, but it begins before the game and involves finding the right piece to play. It needs to be flat, so it falls easily, and if you have to step on it, it needs to be smooth to the underfoot. If you have to push it sequentially, it has to slide, easily based on the floor where you want to play. I remember using broken tiles from a toilet renovation and rubbing it carefully on the ground till it was smooth. Hours are spent preparing the flat stone or what is sometimes called a chill for the game.
The game is reminiscent of a maze and could perhaps draw its inspiration from them as negotiating the court is quite a journey in itself. While some claim that the game is an ancient one, others believe it is merely a couple of hundred years old.
As the boards are rarely permanent and a flat stone could mean many things, we rely on written evidence to tell us about the antiquity of the game. The rules too belong to the oral tradition and sadly cannot be used as proof of a game’s age. Hopscotch requires a great deal of balance, and core strength in bending and picking up a piece — all while balanced on one foot. While the jury is still out on the age of the game, it is unparalleled fun and I truly wish I could play it again and capture those old and wonderful memories.