The
memories of childhood can moisten almost all eyes. Humans have a tendency to
mature into different molds with time, but, their sweetest memories remain that
of childhood. The childhood memories are the first stage of “Down the Memory Lane” feelings. The
happiest memories of childhood are the pranks and games that humans play with
their friends. These memories have a special place in each heart as the mind
wanders back into times to repaint the dots.
As
young children in India, we were part of a generation that was replacing the
pre-partition generation. Our games and pranks were more or less similar to our
preceding generations. Each evening, the vehicle-less streets of our small
towns would be full of children playing traditional games and pranks. The
pranks were a part and parcel of the games and rejuvenated the naughty minds. I
vividly remember an old neighbor who would not let children play anywhere near
his home. He would protect his Guava trees from the children only to surrender
them to the parrots who would ravage the Guavas at their free will. It used to
be classic battle of a stick wielding Soldier with a high speed Fighter Plane.
Many a tactics can be learnt from the birds as they keep jumping from wall to
wall and have scarce regard for the pet dog. They know for sure that the dog
cannot climb the tree and neither the wall. This Gentleman also resembled a
popular figure on a Cigarette Pack and as a prank, the children would rattle
out the Cigarette’s name when he shouted on them.
It was in those days that we could play the
ever exciting game of “Hide and Seek”. Hide-and-Seek is a children's game
in which a number of players conceal themselves in the environment, to be found
by one or more seekers. The game is played by one player chosen as Seeker to close his/her eyes and
counting to a predetermined number while the other players hide. After reaching
the number, the player who is chosen attempts to locate all concealed players.
The game can end in one of several ways. In the most common variation of the
game, the player chosen locates all players, the player found last is the
winner and is chosen to be the Seeker in the next game. The game is an example
of an oral tradition, as it is commonly passed down by
children to younger children. In India, hide and seek is played
differently - if any of the 'hiders' touch the seeker and says Dhappa,
then the seeker has to count again. However, if the seeker sees the hider
before they manage to touch him/her and say Dhappa, then that hider
will be leader the next round, unless some other hider manages to 'Dhappa'
the seeker without being seen.
During
childhood, this game is full of fun and frolic. Young children find many spaces
to conceal themselves. The young, flexible and mostly lean structures permit
children to ease into holds and crevices, behind the curtains, under the beds/sofas
and as far as the imagination can wander. Many learn to climb the trees and
walls with effortless ease to play and win this high excitement game. The game
has a unique charm. It is a battle of minds. At the beginning, there is a burst
of energy as players run around to find a suitable place. Then comes the calm
period when the seeker is on the hunt. The mind controls even the breathing
pattern and players stay absolutely calm and still to avoid detection. Silence
is the golden rule of this game. Each detection leads to excitement for the
seeker as he achieves his aim. The game surely pumped up the adrenaline of the
players and there were smiles all around at the end of the evening. The game
would begin next day from where it was left. Those were the days- the mind
wanders, isn’t it?
As
humans grow older, they do end up playing Hide-and-Seek again. Only this time around the
patterns are different. The arena of the game extends distances. The players
fan out to larger distances and the seeker has a big task at hand. He does not
hunt down the players physically. The game transitions into a different dimension
altogether. The seeker devises mechanisms each day to begin the game and the
hunt continues. The players keep raising the stakes of detection and bank
heavily upon the seeker’s sluggishness to track them. The game now has one undaunted
challenge. The seeker continues to remain a seeker and the players have now to
work hard to reach the seeker’s position. Each new seeker devises his own
methods and the players prepare their strategies to avoid detection.
There
are no set patterns to win games. One seeker’s technique may cause a complete
Waterloo for the other seeker. The patterns though are static, but the
solutions and techniques do differ. The game now shifts from mind to also
occupy the hearts. Children are simple but mature humans end up into various
complexities. With age, humans develop many vagaries and become dependent upon
external influences. This is where the heart comes into the battle. Many a
times, the mind is willing, but the heart refuses or vice-versa. The seeker has
a task at hand. He now has to understand the hearts and minds as well. The
combination of heart and mind leads to a complex maze of ideas and
imaginations. It is also a fact that majority of the humans run behind
imaginations most of their lives. Little they realize that imaginations can be
mirages and do not actually give the desired results unless practical. The Hide-and-Seek now achieves
higher dimensions and its proportions try to reach zenith.
This is where the
seekers and players need to balance their respective approaches. The game is no
longer for fun. It is now a business. Its components break into the complex
management techniques and gets sub-divided into specializations. Theories
emerge each day and new concepts are tried on humans. The humans forget to
balance their hearts and minds and the race runs amok in various dimensions. In
most games, the seekers and the players are not willing to balance the weights.
Each one is trying to outgun the other. The chaos prevails and the humanity
takes a great interest in persisting chaos as rising stakes seems to bring in better
profits to one side. This is where the whole game loses its relevance and the
childhood fades away into oblivion.
Each one of us has our
task cut out. We are either seekers or players in every role that we play in
this life. Our core job is to ease out the role and to play the game with
simple ease. A job half done is not well done. A job can be a botched up
operation if information is not exchanged timely. The seeker will seek and the
players cannot hide for long. The idea to surprise the seeker with a Dhappa
and to earn the accolades for a winning effort. The game must continue and the
business must thrive to achieve a meaningful life. As in childhood, the evening
would stop the game. In adulthood, many factors can stall the game. However,
energy can neither be conserved and nor destroyed. The game has to begin and it
is for the seekers and the players to decide how fast can they re-organize,
connect the matrix together and play the Hide-and-Seek again.
So, shall we begin
the new game today?
