A Museum of Traditional Games

The next day dawned bright and sunshiny, and I decided to don my Kreeda avatar. I wore my recycled jewellery and dresses adorned with icons of traditional games. There was much wowing when they saw the lovely snakes and ladders representing our wonderful Parama Padam or Moksha Patam. There was a lot of animated conversation about it at the breakfast table, after which we took a walk down to the Old Town. 

The morning was surprisingly cool, although I was assured that in the afternoon the sun would be blisteringly hot. As we crossed the river into the Old Town, the buildings changed. It had a lovely charm that most European towns do, the city centre with buildings around it. We walked up first to the museum, where we met the people who were hosting us. There was Carlos, the host, with his big smile on his face, looking like the most genial Santa Claus, welcoming us with a big hug. 

Carlos spoke some English and immediately made us feel welcome and at home. There were Gregorio and César, white-haired, courtly gentlemen, who were very amused by my name and tried many times to say it. In fact, Gregorio found my name very amusing, and every time he saw me, for the rest of the time I was in Aranda, he would say Vinita, stressing the “ni” in my name with a big smile on his face, almost like he was proud of his achievement in being able to get the name right. 

The little museum they had was not very large, but the space was provided to them by the City Council, and it had games, photographs, images, posters, and displays from across the world. Many of them were recognizable as games we know in India. It was all in a happy jumble. It was not like any museum we’ve ever seen with a touch-me-not feel. Everyone, including children, were encouraged to touch, play, pick up, and examine everything that was there. The idea was to be hands-on. The idea was to be fun. And the idea was to get people to play. 

It set the tone for the rest of the program: light-hearted and fun. We walked across to the conference hall, where my heart gave a little jump of excitement to see the Indian flag proudly displayed along with the others. It suddenly struck me that I was an ambassador for my country, not just for our traditional games. A great feeling of pride came over me. 

Truly, a journey from Madras to Madrid.