Class 7 students will now learn traditional games and activities rooted in Indian culture from the new textbooks introduced by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

Class 7 students will now learn traditional games and activities rooted in Indian culture from the new textbooks introduced by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

In line with the requirements of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, indigenous games from various States have been incorporated in the Physical Education and Well-being textbook titled Khel Yatra.

Unit 1 of the book, titled Foundational basis of physical education and well-being, includes three traditional games from Maharashtra and Southern India.

Among them are ‘Ghorpadiche Shepoot’ or a Lizard’s Tail. The game is played between two teams, each with a line of players holding the person in front of them by the waist. One team’s head (the person leading) tries to tag the other team’s tail (person at the back) without getting caught.

The textbook includes a reference to Maratha warrior Tanaji Malusare using ‘ghorpad’ or a lizard to win the castles. Legend has it that Tanaji Malusare and his troops scaled Sinhagad fort at night with the help of a pet monitor lizard. They tied ropes to the lizard and crawled up the fort.

Another game from Maharashtra is titled ‘Gidhada Gudkavan’, or Hawk and Chickens — it replicates a chase between a hawk and chickens popular in rural areas. The content mentions that this encourages agility, teamwork work and strategy as the hawk tries to tag the chickens, while the mother hen leads the chickens to safety. “It is fast-paced and passed down through generations as a playful way to stay active,” the textbook mentions.

Another inclusion is ‘Nalugu Rallu Ata’ or Four Stones Game, which is a traditional game played in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. This involves strategic movement of players in the court to avoid being caught by the ‘denner’, while collecting stones.

Unit 2 — titled Physical and Motor Fitness — lists four more traditional games. These include ‘Dhaan ki Bori’ or a sack of grain, where pairs of players race against each other with one player carrying the other one on their back.

‘Atya-Patya’ — described as having a traditional ‘Bhartiya’ — is a tag and running game, where runners have to cross as many lines in a court while defenders try to tag them out. It is also called ‘Dariya Bandha’ and is referred to as a game of agility and strategy in the textbook.

‘Dapo Nyarka Sunam’, a traditional wrestling game played by the tribes of the Northeast, where two players engage in a contest using a bamboo stick as their primary tool, has also been included. The two players, facing each other, grip one end of a bamboo stick and attempt to push the opponent out of the marked circle while maintaining balance and control over the stick. The textbook states that bamboo wrestling teaches strength building, technique and strategy.

‘Madhu and Manu’ is a tag game where two teams race to their respective safety zones without getting tagged by the other team.

While Units 3 and 4 deal with fundamentals of Badminton and Football, Units 5 and 6 are dedicated to Kabaddi, Yoga and Asanas, as well as Pranayama.

“The textbook is designed to develop motor skills and engage children in team sports of Badminton, Football and Kabaddi. Age-specific aspects of Yoga are designed to lay the foundation for healthy living. Khel Yatra emphasises the importance of physical activity and the values and dispositions essential for life. It incorporates cross-cutting themes such as inclusion, gender equality and cultural rootedness,” NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani has stated in his foreword of the textbook.

Another textbook, titled Kaushal Bodh, introduced in Class 7 for Vocational Education, introduces concepts like Puppetry, Tie and Dye Fabric Printing, Gardening, Artificial Intelligence and so on for students.

In the section Storytime with Puppets, the textbook mentions the excavation of a puppet-headed bull belonging to Sindhu-Sarasvati Civilisation, at Karanpura in Rajasthan. In the section Tie and Dye, students are taught to create patterns on fabric of ‘Leheriya’ and ‘Bandhani’, popular in Rajasthan and Gujarat, as well as ‘Batik’, in Madhya Pradesh. The section also mentions a community that migrated from Gujarat, centuries ago, to Tamil Nadu and is involved in ‘Madurai Sungudi’, cotton tie and dye patterns used for sarees.