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Among the educated classes Western games are rapidly being adopted by those who can afford them. In Nagpur city the "Indian Gymkhana", established in 1921, admits members from all classes and professions and provides them with facilities for playing cricket, tennis, billiards, table-tennis, and badminton, and indoor games such as cards, chess, carom, etc. The game of hockey id fostered by the Nagpur District Hockey Association. The Modi Cricket Club (est. 1892) besides cricket has also now included games such as football and hockey. Apart from these there are a number of other specialized associations to promote games such as badminton, football, table-tennis and volley-ball. There area also a number of clubs and associations to foster games, sports and athletics after Indian style. The Madhyaprades krida Mandal was established in 1934 to promote Indian games and systems of exercise such as kho-kho,hututu, Kabbadi, Malkhamb and Yogasanas, and there are several other vyayam-salas.(Gymnasiums ) and organizations with similar aims. But the traditional Indian institution to foster wrestling after Indian style and other supporting types of exercises is the Akhada or talim. Many a village in the district have an Akhada or wrestling pit, at which boys and young men are trained in Indian wrestling and desi kasarat or indigenous system or exercise under the guidance of a master or ustad. The Nagpur City Akhada Sanghatan (organization) has associates to represent 78 Akhada in the city. Organized wrestling competitions are held mostly in the monsoon the main days being the festivals of Nag-Panchamii,Janmastami and Narali Paurnima. Bouts are also arranged at many of the village fairs. Much feeling is sometimes aroused at wrestling matches between the partisans of different champions, and the meetings sometimes end in a disturbance. Cattle-racing in light carts, goading the animals to speed by all possible means, is a popular amusement of the cultivation classes in the district. Cattle-races are held on the festival of Tilsankrant, at which two pairs of bullocks, yoked to a light chakda or cart, race against each other for a distance of half a mile or so, while the owners bet on the result. Such contests are also held at different fairs and a number of frantic Carmen long for the day when they could take part in the cart-racing. with the same spirit of contest villagers enjoy fights between rams, cocks and buffaloes specially trained for the purpose. But the entertainment to the taste of the city-dweller has to be of a more cultural type. Theatrical and circus companies as also professional troupes of acrobats, dancers and snake-charmers frequently visit Nagpur. Besides these, organized efforts to cater to the cultural needs of the people are made by several bodies. In the city there are some 19 associations with names such as Dramatic Club. Kala-Mandir, Kala-Kendra, Ranga-Bhumi, Natya-Niketan,etc. set up as they are for promoting the cause of dramatic art. However, the more popular type of entertainment availed of by the urbanites is at the talkies and cinema houses which now number about 20 in Nagpur. There area also a number of libraries and reading-rooms, about 41 in Nagpur, which are much frequented in the evening by the reading public. In the city are published 7 dailies: 2 in English, 2 in Hindi, and 3 in the Marathi : 1 bi-weekly in Hindi; 10 weeklies:1 in English, 2 in Hindi, 1 in Hindi-Marathi:" 5 in Marathi and 1 in Sanskrit: 7 in fortnightly: 1 in English, 1 in Hindi: 4 in Marathi and 1 in Hindi-Marathi: 28 Monthlies: 9 in English. 7 in Hindi, 10 in Marathi, 1 in Urdu, and 0 in Marathi-Hindi, and 4 quarterlies and Bi-annuals: 1 in Hindi, 1 in Sindhi and 2 in multi-languages. They are also a number of associations institution and organizations to look after the wider cultural needs of the people in the field of music, dancing, painting and literature. There are about 22 institutions devoted to the service of Fine Arts- 14 for music, 3 for dancing and 5 for painting. Classical Indian Music, both vocal and instrumental is taught in the music schools;and also instructions and training in different systems of classical Indian dancing are imparted at the Nrtyamandirs or dancing schools. Concerts are often held at music halls or in private houses where people nay congregate to enjoy the performance of maestro or a ustad in singing or in instrumental music played on sitar, harmoniaum, sarangi, dilruba, flute, tabla, etc. Many a house in the city is equipped with a harmonium or a tabla a gramophone or a radio set, to help the inmates to pass off the ennui of their leisure;hours. The radio-set is usually set on more for film songs or news than for the educative talks Recreational activities and games popular among children of the district have parallels perhaps with such activities all the world over. Dolls are made of clay and cloth, and occasionally their marriages are celebrated with feasts and fireworks. Tag and chase games such as andhali-kosimber, lapandav are popular among boys of all ages. Games such as gup-cup-toba, suparambi, uagh-bakri are played in a team spirit. Games of gotya (marbles) and bhomra (top) are played with keen sense of contest by boys; bhatukli(house-keeping), gage or sagargote, Phugadya are essentially games played by girls. Games played in the primary and secondary schools and colleges in the district are practically the same as in any other district. Of these the well0known major Indian games are; Atya-Patya, kabaddi Kho-Kho, Langadi, Lagorya and viti-dandud. Swimming and walking on stilts are the pastimes of the month of Sravana. Kite-flying is a favorite amusement with old and young in the open season, and the game of Patang-ladhna which consists in trying to cut the strings of each other's kites is played. When the string of a kite is cut and it falls to the ground, it becomes the property of the first person who can pick it up. For the purpose special kite-thread rubbed with paste mixed with glass-dust to make it hard and sharp is used. (Copyright © Nagpur Online, March 1999,
2000 Under the U.S. & India Copyright act ). |
