Hu Tu Tu Hu Tu Tu

What are these girls doing? They are shouting ‘out’,‘out’,‘out’, it is clear that they are playing a game.

What do you call this game? Chedduguddu, Hu-tu-tu, Choo Kit Kit, Ha-du-du or Kabaddi or something else?

When six girls surrounded Shyamala and caught her, everyone thought that she was ‘out’. Somebody caught her legs, and somebody her arms, while one girl caught her by the waist. But Shyamala was not the one to give up. She dragged herself and managed to touch the line in the centre.When Shyamala touched the line, all the girls of the opposite team were holding her. So all of them got ‘out’. But Rosy argued that Shyamala had taken a breath in between, so the team was not ‘out’. Shyamala insisted that this was not true. She said that if she had taken a breath, why did the girls keep holding her?There was a big argument. Finally Shyamala won.

The Game of Kabaddi

So, this is what a game of Kabaddi is like. Pushing and pulling, screaming and shouting, dragging and falling on the ground. It is a rough game, yet it has many rules.It is lots of fun, and lots of exercise. Holding your breath while running and continuously saying Kabaddi-Kabaddi and also trying to touch the players of the opposite team. So many things to do in Kabaddi. You can do this as long as you can hold your breath.

You need to use both your body and mind in this game. You have to use your strength to pull or stop the players. At the same time, you have to think about how to enter the other side. You have to decide whom to touch quickly and come back. If you get caught, then how do you reach the line in the centre.

Next time when you play Kabaddi, focus your attention on your legs, arms and eyes. You will notice that good coordination is required between eyes, legs and arms.

Do you play Kabaddi? Is there a girls’ Kabaddi team in your school? Do you think that your grandmother played Kabaddi when they were your age? Ask them.

A Story of Three Sisters

Look at this photograph. Don’t they look like simple grandmothers? But they are different.

The picture is of the three sisters – Jwala, Leela and Heera. They live in Mumbai. All three of them played Kabaddi, and taught the game to others.Jwala tells, “When we were young, girls were not allowed to play this game. People thought that if girls played such rough games, nobody would marry them.” They also said that the girls had to wear boys’