45 - Games - Marbles or Kanchey (in Hindi)

5.     Marbles – I am sure we all would have played with them in our childhood. Even if we had not played games with them, we would have certainly collected them.  I am now going to write about 2 games which I used to play regularly.  In addition to these games, one used the marbles for bartering to get different types of marbles, use them playing catch-catch with others or simply throwing them up in air and practice our catching.

To play with marbles, you need to learn some techniques. You keep your left thumb on the ground and with your right hand, with the thumb and the “pointing” fingers, keep the marble at the top of the longest finger in the left hand. You push back this finger with the fingers of your right hand and then release the marble. When you release the marble, with the force of your left hand’s longest finger, you let the marble go the distance.

                                              

I don’t remember the names now.  The first game goes like this.  This is played in a ground.  You make a hole in the ground so that if you play the marble towards this hole,  many times, the marble will fall in to the hole and not come up.  Same like golf.  Instead of stick in gold, you use your fingers in this game. For making the hole smoother, you use the heels of your foot.  You put your foot-heel in the hole and rotate your heel.  This will make the hole more round and smoother😊 Everyone who is playing, typically 4-5 people, stand some 20 metres away from the hole and throw their marble towards the hole.  After the end of the throw, whoever is near the hole, gets to play first.  The aim is to be the first person to get the marble in the hole.  You have to ensure that when you are releasing the marble from your hand while playing, the marble should not come out of the hole.  Another variation could be that if you are very near the hole, you can also hit the other player’s marble so that his marble goes further away from the hole😊.  Of course, this would mean that you will miss your chance for putting your marble in the hole.  But, you are taking a chance the other fellow will not be able to put his marble in a single release from that far!!

The second one is where you draw a small circle in the ground.  The circle should be big enough for placing some 10-15 marbles with some distance between them, preferably at least 2-3 inches.  Each player donates 2 or 3 marbles and these are kept in the circle.  As usual, from some 20 metres, the players throw on marble towards the circle.  The person whose marble lands very near to the circle, gets the chance first.  His objective is to hit the marbles so that they come out of the circle.  If it comes out because of his hit, the marble becomes his😊.  He has to ensure that his marble does not end up in the circle.  In that case, his marble remains in the circle and he is out of the game. If you are skilled enough, you can also end up hitting 2-3 marbles out of the circle in one shot.  In case you are able to get a marble out, you get another shot to play.  If you miss to get the marble out, the next player who is next-near to the circle, gets to play.  The objective of the game is to collect as many marbles as you can.  Here also you can hit the opponent’s marble so that he has to play from where his marble has ended up.  You can also hit his marble in such a way that his marble ends up inside the circle!! 

That’s all this time!!  More in the next blog…. Cheers!!

                 Today’s Daffy Definition

Teacher – A person who goes on talking long after others have lost interest in what he/she says!!