Folk Games of Bengal: An Appraisal

Much of Sports Sociology centers on two themes; Sports is an expression of the societal and cultural system in which it occurs, and Sports the mirror of the rituals and values of societies in which they are developed. Today we consider the organizational games as the sports only. We cannot deny that before this type of organizational game, had many traditional games in each society. Where those traditional games were, consider as the reflection of the society. Organizational Sports has been presented to us instead of our traditional games. Gradually the traditional games are going to limited within the history or literature pages. In this globalization era, the indigenous Bengali people are moving away from their own culture and tradition to follow the world civilization. To follow universalism we should not make our tradition as history. Because traditions are leads us from the front of the society. Folk games are the major part of our tradition. In pre-colonial and colonial area in Bengal there were many traditional games like as Lathi Chora (Throw Stick), Danguli (play of long picces of wood), Kit-Kit (girls famous game), Goli (Marbels or Glass ball), Lattu (Top), Luko-Churi (Hide and seek), Rumal Churi(hanky Thief), Ghuri (Kite Flying) and so many. Those traditional games were the pathological game of Bengal society. Within few decades the indigenous Bengali people followed the games which were borrowed from England. The modern game became as the cultural weapon against British instead of traditional games. Because indigenous people wanted to give the proper answer the british‟s own sports. And the effect of which started to have negative impact on the traditional games of Bengal, because they started forgetting their traditional games. Those traditional games we can not never return to the life of the Bengali people as before.