Don’t we all miss those days of gully cricket and gilly-danda? The days when all we needed to have fun was a pile of flat stones or a bunch of marbles? The days when ‘playing’ meant physical interaction with other kids rather than a bunch of AIs?
Growing up back then was different; filled with simple joys and real friendships. How many of us would give everything to feel that again?
Well, thankfully for us, Delhi-based user experience engineer, Tapan Babbar has a beautiful solution. Introducing Recess Varanasi: an interactive website that takes you on a soothing ride along the 71 ghats of Varanasi, where you can enjoy all those street games you loved, as if you were right there!
Tapan conceptualised the project when he visited Varanasi for the first time, a couple years ago. While on his trip, he chanced upon kids playing street games on the river ghats and was taken on a trip down memory lane.
He returned to Varanasi again in February, to document and digitize the magnificent city and the street games he once played. Tapan spent two weeks with his friends, shooting videos of children playing street games in the city’s ghats, and trying to understand the local way of life.
The result is this beautiful website that recreates the nostalgia of games like pithoo (lagori), stapoo (hopsscotch), maram pitti (dodgeball), aankh micholi (blindfold), gilli-danda, kanche (glass marbles), kite flying and chupam chupai (hide and seek).
Be sure to check out the website for an immersive experience that takes you back in time.
Featured image source: Recess in Varanasi
Written by Tulika Bhogaraju
