Let’s play, the traditional way

Trichy: Sunday mornings will never be same again as the Times of India along with Trichy City Police and Trichy Corporation will launch Happy Streets on Thillai Nagar 10th cross street (west).

Times of India Happy Streets is Trichy’s precious opportunity to enjoy the city’s original charm, where families can spend part of their Sundays doing a workout, participating in leisure activities or simply socialising with others. Traditional games for children will find a place in Happy Streets and will give kids the opportunity to play games which their parents once indulged in as children.

Decades back, residential streets used to be filled up with sounds of children playing games of their choice, such as cricket, gilli danda, football etc.- but now the same streets are only lined with parked vehicles. At a time when neighbours hardly know each other, the Happy Streets initiative by TOI will not only be a platform to free up stress through physical and mental activities, but will also serve as one to socialise with neighbours.

This Sunday, children will get an opportunity to play long forgotten games such as pallanguzhi, pachai kuthirai, thaayam, bambaram and gilli danda. The games, part of Happy Streets, will revive the indigenous culture which was taken over by smart phones and build a network among children through which they can break the hesitation to communicate with children of the same age group. There are plenty of games in store in Happy Streets to play as a family as well.

As clinical psychologists in the city have been seeing increase in number of visitors to get rid of smart phone addiction, traditional games finding place in Happy Streets will promote interpersonal skills, say psychologists.

If you are a person more interested in growing plants but complain about inadequate space in your flats, experts in terrace gardening will clear your doubts at Happy Streets, as space has earmarked for organic farming enthusiasts and terrace gardening experts to share their views and suggestions to commence cultivating vegetables in the available space.

With Happy Streets in the making, Trichy residents need not complain about the city lagging recreational activities any more. So leave your cars and bikes behind and use your happy feet to get to the Times of India Happy Streets for a roller coaster of a morning at Thillai Nagar 10th cross street (west).

Fun loaded initiatives for the citizens await to highlight the importance of bonding with people and to nurture social skills that are the need of the hour in a digitised world.

Traditional games to lookout for:

Gilli Danda: This famous rural game involves children in teams holding a lengthy wooden stick (gilli) and hitting a small wooden stick with tapered ends (danda)

Nondi: Hopping in the squares grids

Pallanguzhi: A centuries old indigenous indoor game in Tamil culture, this game involves collecting seeds from 14 cups

Lessons in organic farming: Happy Streets brings to you experts in terrace gardening to clear your queries in growing vegetables

Workshops on nurturing social skills: Sessions hosted by clinical psychologists to keep stress at bay