THEORIES OF PLAY - PART 3

“Sociodramatic play is the most advanced form of social and symbolic play. In sociodramatic play, children carry out imitation and dramatic and fantasy play together. Sociodramatic play involves role-playing, in which children imitate real-life people and experiences that they have had themselves. Make-believe is also a component because it serves as an aid to imitation. It allows the children to represent real-life events and includes their imaginations in carrying out their roles.” The child’s abilities in sociodramatic play improve with experience, and, as the child plays with different children, play becomes more varied to include new interpretations and ideas.” - WILLIAM H. STRADER

Sara Smilansky, a renowned researcher and a professor from Israel, has researched on the sociodramatic aspect of child's play. Smilansky has a a lot of publications on play and it's relation to learning. Initially, Smilansky worked with Jean Piaget, which led to the development of three stages of play, which has been mentioned in the earlier blog, that is sensory motor play, symbolic play and games with rules.  

Further, Smilansky reworked on Piaget's theory of explaining that play does not occur in stages but rather children engage in four types of play which is present at all stages of development. The four types of play are;

•  Functional play, where children use their muscles and senses to explore things around
• Conditional play, where children use the muscles and senses at the same time are trying to be creative.
• Games with rules, where children are trying to understand the use of rules in play.
• Dramatic play, which according to Smilansky is the most complex form of play involving the imitative capacities of the children.

According to Smilansky, these types of play effects academic success in children. Smilansky worked further on Sociodramatic play of children to understand it's relevance to learning. According to Smilansky, "Sociodramatic play is also considered as dramatic play children engage in at a social setting". This play occurs at two levels imitative and imaginative. Imitative is the first level where the child imitates real persons and real situations. Imagination goes a level higher than imitative, when the child begins to enact and create a whole imaginary situation to include whatever they imitate.

Sociodramatic play and the four types of play as explained by Smilansky are the key components for understanding the relation between play and learning. 

Smilansky's research greatly contributed to the world of developmental psychology. It greatly impacted research on the effects of play and learning. The research she's contributed to says that sociodramatic play allows for preparation for children's school years. It was also found that the type of background children come from has an effect on sociodramatic play, which affects their learning and academics. 

By Dr Srividya K.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Smilansky

"PATIENCE A VIRTUE" - LEARNED AT CARAVAN

Working with children, one very important aspect is patience. It is a virtue that is a must. Learning to be patient with them and teach them whatever needs to be taught at their own pace is something very essential. It's so amazing to see the enthusiasm of the children. They're so carefree and they enjoy every second of the time they get, even in the rain, and it's really wonderful to see. They thoroughly enjoy themselves without thinking too much and that's what is really needed after a long day of monotonous lectures. The kids could learn to mingle better, especially not with girls. Whenever they're taken into any room, the boys and girls stand or sit separately and it's our job to make them interact with each other apart from among themselves. But it's good to see that the children have fun among themselves, regardless of their ages. The seniors help the juniors and the juniors feel free to go up to the seniors to interact and have fun. The instructors are also very helpful and they take care of the children very well.

Another thing I thought would be a barrier was language. All of them know Kannada and since I only know bits and pieces of it, it was a little difficult in the beginning. But later we got to communicate in English by using common words which the kids would understand. It really helped and slowly we got closer to the kids and learnt from them too.

Overall, it has been an amazing experience. I've never been around so many children as a tutor before and it has been so enriching. I am looking forward to many more interactions with them and will continue to keep an open mind to learn new things.

CARAVAN - A TWO WAY LEARNING

After a lot of searching, we finally found Headstreams. More specifically, Headstreams found us. We were in desperate need of an NGO and luckily for us, Headstreams turned out to be a perfect place. Even though I've attended only 4 sessions, it's been a major learning experience.

After the routine 9-4 schedule every day, the kind of break we get at Headstreams is very relieveing. We get to play around with children and involve ourselves in refreshing activities which acts as a destressor and a welcome breake from my mundane routine. As I said, it's a constant learning experience from both us and the children. We primarily facilitate the children and in turn also enjoy the fact that the children like the things that's being done for them. At the same time we also learn a lot as the children we interact with are very talented in various fields and as a result, it's a bidirectional learning experience. Also the way everything is conducted is efficient and everyone at Headstreams deserves to be appreciated for that. The instructors are crystal clear in what they want to communicate to us and it's majorly because of them that we do a lot, even though it's only a few hours that we get to spend with the children. The activities are also very enjoyable and fun and it's a very innovative way to teach children different things as they enjoy what they do and aren't really bored at the end of the day.

CARAVAN - A TWO WAY LEARNING

Caravan is a very unique opportunity where I get to spend quality time with the most amazing children. I have been given a chance to build a strong bond with these kids that I will remember for a life time. Every saturday, I get to create memories by playing, laughing, dancing, painting or sometimes by just doing the silliest of things along with them. Just by spending a few hours, I learn things that I'd never learn in a classroom. Every week I learn about their life, their difficulties, their strengths and their happiness. This is what makes Caravan so unique. It brings people together. It bridges the gap between people coming from two different backgrounds. What makes me keep coming back every week is to see their bright smiles. The thought of bringing a smile to their faces only by just showing up is what makes me so happy. One of the most important things in life is to find joy in the simplest of things and I have learnt that through caravan.

CARAVAN - A TWO WAY LEARNING

At Headstreams, it's a two way learning process. There are times where children learn from the volunteers and at  times the volunteers learn a lot from the children. Each week there are different set of games and activities and after each session, the volunteers are asked for their feedback from which the organisation aims in improving its ways and methods. Although the school is situated in the outskirts of the city and it takes almost two and a half hours to reach, the volunteers forget about their fatigue when they see the smiling faces of the children ready to welcome the volunteers. 

There are a lot of volunteers who come from other places and cities and do not know the regional language, but this does not hinder the interaction between the children and the volunteers. 

The organisation plans its activities beforehand which helps the volunteers understand what they exactly have to do during the sessions. It helps reduce a lot of confusion. The feedback session too, helps improve,introduce and organise newer and better activities every week. The rapport I've built with certain kids in the school is great. They come searching for me, they make greeting cards for me and also share their personal problems and experiences with me. It's overwhelming that I've built such strong relationships just within a few weeks of working with the organisation. For the first couple of weeks, though the volunteers of different colleges didn't get along well, it kept getting better with each session. 

There are a lot of things I've learnt in these few weeks with Headstreams. I've learnt patience, and how little things matter to these kids. Their eyes shine and their faces lighten up when they are appreciated for the small things. They are very enthusiastic. Although they were a little shy in the beginning, they came out of their closet and took part in the activities oragnised. They are very creative and there's so much to learn from them. They come up with innovative art ideas and dance moves that we would've never thought about. 

Although they are really young, they are very understanding. They never make fun of people who do not know the regional language but encourage them by teaching them words and numbers in Kannada. Even if  a session or a stall bored them or they did not like it, they always say nice things so that it doesn't hurt us. 

Like I mentioned before, I love going to the school even if I'm really exhausted. My mood brightens up when I see the children and I really look forward to work with the organisation in the upcoming months! 

CARAVAN EXPERIENCES

This caravan, volunteered at the dance stall. We tried a new activity where we all stood in a circle, and while the music played anybody could step in, do a step, and the rest of us would follow. This didn't really work with the group, as the kids hesitated and many of them ran out of the room. We then thought we would try something different. In the same circle we decided that we'd each step in one by one in order. While there were still nerves, the kids adapted to this method far better. This incident made me think about a theory I was just studying in college, and I realised that majority of those kids would fit in to Erik Erikson's Industry verses Inferiority stage of Psycho social development. This made perfect sense because I could see that where the kids were hesitant to take up initiatives of doing the step taught, because they might have had feeling of being inferior. But while we went in order, they felt slightly more confident to show their competence. This whole realisation made me feel pretty proud of myself, for being able to understand a concept and apply it like that. What else would be the point of studying the subject? I left today's caravan feeling really grateful for having that opportunity to get a hands on learning.

A VOLUNTEER'S TAKE ON CARAVAN EXPERIENCE

The Headstreams Caravan sessions conducted so far have been an amazing learning experience. I've never been able to get along well with people younger than me. But Headstreams has helped me become a better person. Not only this, I have also learnt team work here. Around 60 volunteers from different colleges come together to work and make each session fun filling and exciting. To be frank and honest, it's not easy to control 200 odd students at once. I'm a very impatient person and I get stressed really quick. But at Headstreams, the child hidden inside me comes out. The very fact that Headstreams stresses on over-all development and mainly stress on activities outside academics, which other educational institutions fail to implement sets Headstreams apart. I enjoy each session thoroughly; from the large group games to the dance and music stall to the part where we have to say goodbye to the kids, I cherish each moment spent here. 

THEORIES OF PLAY - PART 2

Play is the highest form of research - Albert Einstein

The above quote has a very deep meaning and reflects Einstein's depth of understanding on play as being vital to human development. Earlier the classical theories looked at play from a very philosophical perspective, and viewing play as a form for release of pent up energy. The contemporary theorists view of play is according to the likes of Einstein's quote. Play was viewed by the contemporary theorist from a developmental perspective.

According to Sandie Rollins's, Sigmund Freud looked at play from a therapeutic perspective. Freud in his book on "Beyond the Pleasure Principle", describes play as a mechanism for the child through which the child tries to master previously experienced traumatic events. Anna Freud viewed play as both adaptive and defensive for dealing anxiety.

Bruner, 1972 stated that play had a major role of rehearsing, where the child rehearses actions pertaining to real life situations in a safe, risk-free environment, where the child is preparing himself/herself to face the difficult situation in a less stressful way. 

 According to Dewey, play is a subconscious activity that helps an individual develop both mentally and socially. It should be separate from work as play helps a child to grow into a working world. As children become adults, they no longer "play" but seek amusement from their occupation. This childhood activity of play prepares them to become healthy working adults.

Maria Montessori, postulated that "play is the child's work." Montessori believed in sensory play, where the child learns through play from hands on experiences, with the help of a teacher helping the child play to learn. 

According to Lewin and Buytendijk's Infantile dynamics, play happens because cognitively the child is unable to judge the difference between the real and unreal world. The child plays because it's pre-wired in the not to show any other forms of behaviours other than play. Later, Piaget explain play as occurring in stages in his theory of cognitive development. The stages are;

• Functional play, (sensori motor stage), wherein the child explores his surroundings with the help of his senses and gains an understanding of the environment, which is play for the child.
• Symbolic play (pre operational stage), the child is trying to represent things around symbolically.
• Games with rules (Concrete operation stage), the child at this stage is ready to play more constructive games involving rules.

According to Vygotsky, play is a means by which the child is trying to learn to be social. Children encounter others while playing, where they learn to interact using language and role play.

It's very clear from the above discussion that various theorists viewed play from different perspectives like therapeutic according to Freud, sensory according to Montessori, intellectual according to Lewin and Piaget and social according to Vygotsky. All these theories are just a bird's eye view, there are many more theories of play which explains play from even more different perspectives.

By Dr Srividya K.

Source:

https://edupsychology.wikispaces.com/file/view/Theories+about+play.pdf

https://www.csun.edu/~sb4310/theoriesplay.htm

THEORIES OF PLAY

“Man only plays when he is in the fullest sense of the word a human being, and he is only fully a human being when he plays” ― Friedrich Schiller

Play has been looked at from various perspectives. Fun, frolic, past time, and other synonymous words are the terms used by the common man to describe play. The way academicians look at play from a philosophical and scientific perspective, helps us understand and look at play from various perspectives.

There are some classical theories of play that emerged in the 19th and 20th century which gives different perspectives to play from a very philosophical perspective.

According to the Surplus energy theory of play by Friedrich Schiller (1873), there is lot of energy that is built up in human which can be released only through active play. Play is a medium of releasing the pent up energy.

Recreation or relaxation theory postulated by Moritz Lazarus (1883), in which he opines that play is a mode of relaxation or a de-stressor which restores all the energy that has been lost in the day to day work related activities.

In Practice or pre-exercise theory, Karl Groos (1898) suggests that play is very important to practice behaviours that will help children to survive when they become adults.

Stanley Hall (1906) in his Recapitulation theory argues of play acting as a catharsis in removing certain primitive and unnecessary instinctual skills and not for survival for the future.

Appleton (1919), in his Growth theory agrees with Groos believing that play is way of learning behaviors for survival  and Ego expanding theories by Lange 1902 and Claparde 1911 opines that Play is nature's way of completing the ego an expressive exercising of the ego and the rest of the personality; an exercising that develops cognitive skills and aids in the emergence of additional skills.

Every theorists have differing views on play, but we can come to a consensus that play is vital and important for various aspects of development in children.

Every

Sources:

https://www.csun.edu/~sb4310/theoriesplay.htm

By Dr Srividya K.

GAMES OF INDIAN ORIGIN - PART 3

MOKSHPATAM

The readers must be wondering about the word above, while an old picture of snakes and ladders has been depicted. It is in fact snakes and ladders, but was named as mokshpatam, Parama Padam and Mokshapat by ancient Indians, as the game has its origin from India. The saint Sant Gyandev created this game during the 13th century. The picture below depicts a Jain game board which was created to teach children the Hindu dharma.

The ladders represent virtues and snakes represents vices, played by dices of shells. This game has undergone a lot of evolution, but the basic idea of good deeds representing heaven and bad deeds hell remains the same.

PARAMAPADAM

Paramapadam is also another version of the same game with hundred squares. Each square is illustrated, the ladders represent the gods, and snakes; demons. Each square depicts karmas and samskaras. This game is played for the purpose of entertainment as well to teach morality. This game was renamed as 'Snakes and Ladders' by the British in 1892 and was modified in accordance to the Victorian values.

Another famous sport that is believed to be of Indian origin is 'Polo'. The mughal emperor Babur, is said to have founded this sport in the 15th century, which was modernized by the Britishers.

The same game is played on elephants and is called as 'Elephant Polo', which is said to have been played by the royals, depicting the strengths of the king depending on the number of elephants. This game is played in India (Rajasthan), Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, England and Scotland. 

Such has been the story of origins of games from India!

Picture source has been citied from Aphilomath Journal, content has been reviewed from the same source.

By Dr Srividya K.

PLAY THROUGH THE AGES, INDIAN PERSPECTIVE - II

The famous psychologist Jerome Singer had conducted research studies on play along with his colleagues. While reviewing his research studies, I came across a very intriguing question he asks the readers, and the same question I am putting across. 

Close your eyes for a minute and focus on the immediate thoughts or visualizations that comes across when you hear the word 'play'. For most of us it would have been visualizations of children running, tumbling, skipping, jumping and so on. Visualizations of a child painting, involved in block or simply being an onlooker or pretend play never crosses the mind. Jerome Singer argues that physical play is important, but having physical activities does not help in the all round development of a child. Singer's research throws light upon the fact that pretend play is also equally important as this is where the enhancement of emotional, social, cognitive and language development takes place. 

So far the literature on history of play that I had been reading up has only highlighted upon play in terms of being physically engaging. This may also be due to the lack of literature available on other forms of play. Most of the Indian Perspective of play highlights upon play which is physically engaging. Right from the Indus valley, to Ramayana and Mahabharata period or also called as the vedic period the various kinds of games and sports people involved in has been very interesting. Now let's know more about what happened in the later periods.

The Vedic Period is followed by the Buddhist period. It's believed that Gautama Buddha himself was a pro in archery, chariot racing, equitation and hammer throwing. The famous universities Nalanda and Taxila were formed during this period, and is believed that sports like Swimming, sword - fighting (fencing, as we know it today), running, wrestling and ball games were immensely popular among the students. The famous Mauryan period also followed similar sports activities and its also believed that children played with toys made of wood and clay. The Jataka tales are the best literature which depicts the above mentioned sports in it's stories.

The Mughals are also said to have encouraged sports and it's believed that the Agra fort and Red fort were famous venues for wrestling. During the 16th century a Portuguese ambassador was very impressed with the big sporting venues of Krishnanagara, during the Krishnadevaraya Period.

Our ancient Indian history, starting from 2500 BC to 16th century AD, has a rich heritage of sports and games which as we Indians have to be proud of and also on a serious note, care has to be taken that the games that originated here and its originality must never fade away.

By Dr Srividya K. 

KRIDAPATRAM

 The picture above that's been displayed looks like a painting, but in reality it is one of the leaves from 'playing cards', used by ancient Indians to play the game of cards, also called as 'kridapatram'. According to the Aphilomath Journal, this game of cards originated in ancient India, where the cards were made of cloths and the motifs depicted the Ramayana and Mahabharatha. 

Cards having Ramayana and Mahabharata motifs 

The playing cards were called as 'ganjifa cards', in medieval India, and is believed to be played by the royals. It's been recorded that the Ganjifa was played in areas of Rajputana, Kashyapa Meru (Kashmir), Utkala (Orissa), the Deccan and even in Nepal. Each area had their own version of making cards and motifs depended on the culture and history of the place. 

Cards depicting the Dash avatar from West Bengal

Later the Mughals took the game of cards further and According to Abul Fazal’s (Author of the Ain-e-Akbari ), he describes the cards used by the mughals, where the first set of cards depicted Ashvapati which is the ‘lord of horses’. The Ashvapati which was ranked the highest card in the pack, represented the picture of the king on a horseback. The second represented a General (Senapati) on a horseback. After this card came ten other cards with pictures of horses from one to ten. Another set of cards had the Gajapati (lord of elephants) which represented the king whose power lay in the number of elephants. The other eleven cards in this pack represented the Senapati and ten others with a soldier astride an elephant. Another pack had the Narpati, a king whose power lies in his infantry. The other cards  were known as the Dhanpati, the lord of treasures, Dalpati the lord of the squadron, Navapati, the lord of the navy, Surapati, the lord of divinities, Asrapati, the lord of genii, Vanapati, the king of the forest, Ahipati, the lord of snakes and so on. (Excerpt from the Aphilomath Journal)

A mughal set of playing cards.

The cards were all hand made, by pasting layers of clothes traditionally handcrafted and hand painted. The the cards were made according to the likes of the king. It's been a habit of making the cards circular, with oval and rectangular cards being seen now and then. This art of making cards has been existent for over hundred years and died slowly by the advent of the Europeans who took over in the 17th - 18th century, where they started producing cards made of paper. 

This blog will be followed by attitudes about play during the other periods of Medieval India, which will be a perfect closure to the history of Indian play. 

Picture sources are from Google images and Pinterest.

By Dr Srividya K.

PLAY THROUGH THE AGES, INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

Play, a word, that is synonymous with letting the mind run wild, creating a whole new world using imagination. The word play, brings in thoughts and feelings of lots of fun, fun and fun. 

The study conducted by Meera Oka et al, mentioned in the earlier blog, has led us to understand how play was perceived in the Indian perspective. The best way to look at it was through the civilisations that the country has witnessed across ages. The Indus valley civilisation is the first among the civilisations and a look at the previous blogs throws light upon the fact that play for children was given importance. The importance given to play has been understood only through the play materials that were found in the excavations, but no literature is available regarding the thoughts of people or any philosophers, during that civilisation about play.  

Therefore, I have tried to understand and pen down the importance given to play in the ancient times, with the help of literature available on the games that were played by adults. With the support of articles written by Lakhveer Kaur & Rajesh Chander and Keshav Lahane on Ancient Indian sports, let's delve into the matter.

The Indus valley civilisation is followed by the Vedic period (2500 BC - 600 BC), named so because it was marked by the development of vedas. The Ramayana and Mahabharatha also are a part of this vedic period. It's very clear from the scriptures that the adults involved in sports like chariot racing, archery, military games, swimming, wrestling and hunting. A historic analysis done by the authors mentioned above reveals that people involved in ball games and courtyard games like "hide and seek" and "run and catch" were prevalent. Games involving dices were very popular. 

Education to children followed a method called the 'gurukul' system, where the children had to leave their homes and stay in gurukuls. There the gurus would teach them the way of life. The gurukul system was not just for learning to read and write, but also  learning to live life independently.

The games like archery, racing, swimming were not just adult games, but was imbibed in the adults when they were young by their gurus, which proves that play was given importance. History also reveals that music and dance gained a lot of importance, and women were treated with lot of respect. Music and dance can also considered as forms of play.

There are instances in the scriptures which reveals that Lord Krishna played 'iti danda or 'gullidanda' along the banks of Yamuna river. The most popular game of cards was also played by the ancient Indians, locally knows as 'kridapatram'.

The history of 'kridapatram' itself is very interesting, which if explained with pictures, will make it more interesting and that will be something to look forward in the next blog.

By Dr Srividya K

GAMES OF INDIAN ORIGIN - PART 2

VARIATIONS OF CHESS

Review of literature suggests that the games of chess has had many variations and one of them is the very famous game of dice played by Yudishtira and Duryodhana, also know as 'pagade', which has been very well described in the epic Mahabharath.

This game can be played by 2,3 or 4 players. The roll of the dice predicts a players moves. This is a 8 squares games, constructed on a piece of cloth. The player has to move all around the squares, avoiding being taken down and at the same time trying to win over other players, by reaching the center of the cloth. Each player has 4 pawns to play with, and it's the players responsibility to bring all the pawns to the center of the cloth.

This game came to be known as 'Pachisi', which was played by the Mughal emperors during the 6th century AD, and evidence has been found in the Ajantha caves.

The variations of 'Pachisi' are the modern games Ludo (coined by the British) and Aggravation (a US version of ludo).

Literature review also points out that down south, there were even more variations of the game Pachisi. Around 10th century AD, the Tamil variations came to be known as 'Adu Puliattam'.

Also known as 'goats and tigers', involving 3 tigers and 15 goats. It's a 2 player games, where the player owning tiger will try encountering the goats, and the goats have to be moved strategically to avoid the tiger. It a tiger catches a lone goat, then the players loses a goat pawn, and if 4 goats surround a tiger, a tiger pawn is lost.

‘Nakshatraattam’ (Star game) is the one where each player cuts out the other and the game named ‘Dayakattam’ with four, eight or ten squares, is similar to modern day Ludo. 

Note that most of the pictures and sources are from veda.wikidot.com, wikipedia and Aphilomath Journal.

By Dr Srividya K

GAMES OF INDIAN ORIGIN - PART 1

CHESS

The game of chess was invented in India and was originally called Ashtapada (sixty-four squares). It's believed that this game might have originated around 7th-8th century AD. “Ashtapada” in Sanskrit denotes a spider -“a legendary being with eight legs” and this game was played with a dice on an 8×8 checkered board. Back then the chess board were not black and white checkers, unlike the one we see now.

Other Indian boards included the 10×10 Dasapada and the 9×9 Saturankam. Later this game came to be known as Chaturanga. The Sanskrit name Chaturanga means ‘quadripartite’ — the four Angas (divided into four parts) which symbolize “the 4 branches of the army", which has been said in the Amarakosh, an ancient indian dictionary. Like real Indian armies at that time, the pieces were called elephants, chariots, horses and foot soldiers. Unlike modern chess, Chaturanga was mainly a game of chance where results depended on how well you rolled the dice. Played on an authentic cloth  by 2, 3 or 4 players, Chaturanga combines the basic strategy of chess with the dynamic challenge of chance as each move is determined by the random roll of a wooden dice. (Aphilomaths Journal - https://aphilomathsjournal.wordpress.com/2015/11/30/popular-games-sports-that-originated-in-ancient-india/) 

On May 3rd 2017, an exhibition 'The Art of Kreeda', as a part of South Asian Heritage month, Mr. Raheel Patel, curator of the exhibition showcased some of the board games that originated in India, and Chess being one of them. Mr.Patel has recreated the entire chess set, and he is of the belief that chess origination can be traced to the Indus Valley civilisation.

(Courtesy - https://www.bramptonguardian.com/community-story/7292877-pama-brings-indus-valley-civilization-board-games-to-peel/)

This picture above is a recreation of the game Chaturanga, where 2,3 or 4 players can play this game with the help of rolling dice.

(Courtesy - https://www.bramptonguardian.com/community-story/7292877-pama-brings-indus-valley-civilization-board-games-to-peel/)

Around 1983-89 Sir.William Jones opines in the 2nd volume of Asiatic Researches, that the game of chess is authentically of Indian origin. This is based on the testimony of Persians, and not from any manuscripts. The famous Persian poet Firdousi, in his famous Shahanama, describes the introduction of Chaturanga from 'Hind', as a Sovereign, and the Persians changed it name to 'Chatrang', and later with the conquest of Persia by Arabs the name changed to 'Shatranj'. 

(Aphilomaths Journal - https://aphilomathsjournal.wordpress.com/2015/11/30/popular-games-sports-that-originated-in-ancient-india/) 

The Persian and Arabic version of chess had camels also, which were part of cavalry for them. It's still highly debated as to the origin of the game of chess. But Majority of the evidence points to the fact that chess originated in India. There are more games that are derivatives from chess, which will be dealt upon in the next blog.

By Dr Srividya K

INDUS VALLEY CIVILISATION - TOYS MADE FOR CHILDREN

The history of Indus valley civilisation has been very intriguing so far, and looking at it's history from play perspective has completely opened up a new world of knowledge. This write up is a continuation of the previous blog, which threw light upon the fact that the people, especially adults, did engage in many constructive and physically actives games.

Time and again literature review and archaeological excavations has also proved that play had equal importance to children of this civilisation. The National museum of Delhi  and Pakistan has a number of artifacts displayed that the archaeologists have been able to recover from excavation. Numerous toys were recovered made of clay, which were especially made for children, which leads us to believe the fact that children did involve themselves in lots of games.

Without much ado, let's take a look at the kinds toys used by children of those times. 

 

(Picture Courtesy: Google Images)

This artifact above is displayed in the National Museum, Delhi, which shows some figurines and toy carts which are movable.

Few more toys in the form of carts. these toys reminds us of Channapatna toys, which are not just toys but speaks of the culture as well.

(Picture Courtesy: Google Images)

The below artifact displayed does resemble one of the modern day toys. The dice, marbles and some pawns used for games are recognizable. The most intriguing toy is the circular and rectangular mazes. These are clay marble mazes, whose modern day version is the one made of plastic, with a small metal ball inside secured with a plastic transparent top.

(Picture Courtesy: Google Images and Pinterst)

Some more collection of movable toys. A note of appreciation to the craftsmanship as well as the forethought of the makers of these toys, and again a look at these toys will bring in a feeling of dejavu!  

(Picture Courtesy: Google Images)

These toys resembles our modern kitchen set, which is actually so, made of clay created for the purpose of play.

                                          

(Picture Courtesy: Google Images)

 Animal figurines resembling modern day zoo set.

  

(Picture Courtesy: Google Images)

Hollow egg and bird shaped whistles most probably used to amuse children and also may represent pet birds like doves or partridges.

                                                                          Toy boat of Harrappa also made of clay.

.(Picture Courtesy: harappa.com)

(Picture Courtesy: Google Images)

Figurines with movable heads from Harappa, which most of the time depicts cattle. They are usually pierced laterally through the neck and vertically or sagittally through the head in order to secure them to the bodies and control them with a cord. Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, https://www.harappa.com/slide/toy-boat-harappa

The pictures of artifacts illustrated above are one among the few handpicked ones. There is a treasure chest of artifacts that have been made available for the common man on the internet. The ones who felt this blog interesting can very well go ahead and look for many more.

By Dr Srividya K