The final day of the conference was another game share, but this time in the town center of Aranda. It was a lighter day with fewer people, and the focus was more on building on the relationships we had created in the last few days.
It was for chance for us to talk, to understand and figure out if they were ways we could work together. While there were many strange and unusual games in our various countries, we were also aware that many of the games were similar. We came from many cultures, but in many ways, we were united by our games.
It was a wonderful morning. and I had a rather unexpected press appearance when the results of a little drawing competition were announced, I suggested gifting some Kreeda games to the winning children and was immediately called to give the prizes away. It was a strange feeling to know that my photograph, giving away Kreeda games would appear in the press of Aranda, a town more than 5,000 miles away from Chennai, where it all began.
After a wonderful lunch, where as usual, my requirements for vegetarian food were honored and respected, we said our goodbyes and made our way back to the hotel. The conversation that evening lagged. We were tired and thinking about the next part of our journey.
One of my friends was going back home. Another was going on a pilgrimage, and the third was going on a tour of Europe. But I, I had a very important agenda. I had to get to El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, a historical residence of the king of Spain located about 45 kilometres northwest of the Spanish capital of Madrid.
El Escorial is the largest Renaissance building in the world and functions as a monastery, basilica, royal palace, pantheon, museum, university, school, hospital, and most importantly for me, a library. The Royal Library, which is open to the public was meant to be a monumental work of art in itself, and its execution was commissioned to prominent architects of the time. While there is much that could be said about the library, to me it was the home of Libro de los juegos or the Book of Games commissioned in 1283 by Alfonso X of Castille. This book has inspired me, and it has been my dream to see the book.
The conference wrapped up on a Sunday and as El Escorial was closed on Mondays so I did have one day to kill. My initial plan had been to go to Madrid, but somehow, the beauty of small-town Spain had seeped into my mind and heart. I was reluctant to go to a big city. I chose instead to go to Burgos, another small town about an hour away.
I forgot to mention one thing. A courtly old gentleman in a table next to ours had been making the most beautiful board games, He literally cut them out of rolled clay using templates that looked like cookie cutters. I was fascinated by them, and decided to buy a couple, though I was sure they would be broken by the time I got back to Chennai. He was very, very amused by my fascination for his games and before he wrapped up for the day, he gifted me another half a dozen boards games.
I had a massive project of packing all of these carefully into my bags. I had this sneaking suspicion that they would crack before I got home. Luckily, a couple of friends of mine worked with clay and I was praying that they would be able to help me put it back together. My boxes weighed a ton with all the gifts that were lavished on me.
My time in Aranda was done. and the next adventure awaited.
Ripples Of Life and Time 