Gilli-danda
Encyclopedia
Gilli-Danda also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
: गिल्ली डण्डा) is an amateur sport played in the rural areas and small towns all over the Indian subcontinent, as well as Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
.
Gilli Danda known by various other names: it is called Dandi-Biyo (डण्डी बियो) in Nepali
Nepali language
Nepali or Nepalese is a language in the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family.It is the official language and de facto lingua franca of Nepal and is also spoken in Bhutan, parts of India and parts of Myanmar...
, alak-doulak (الک دولک) in Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, dānggűli in Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
& Assamese
Assamese language
Assamese is the easternmost Indo-Aryan language. It is used mainly in the state of Assam in North-East India. It is also the official language of Assam. It is also spoken in parts of Arunachal Pradesh and other northeast Indian states. Nagamese, an Assamese-based Creole language is widely used in...
, chinni-dandu in Kannada
Kannada language
Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
, kuttiyum kolum
Kuttiyum kolum
Kuttiyum kolum is a traditional game in Kerala, India.-Origin:There are no records of the game's origin in south Asian sub continent or its existence before the arrival of Europeans. However a similar game by name of Lippa has history of being played in Italy and Southern Europe...
in Malayalam
Malayalam language
Malayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...
, viti-dandu विट्टी दांडू in Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
, kitti-pullu in Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, Gooti-Billa or Karra-Billa or Billam-Godu in Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
, Gulli-Danda (گلی ڈنڈا ) in Urdu, Iti-Dakar (اٽي ڏڪر) in Sindhi
Sindhi language
Sindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by 53,410,910 people in Pakistan, according to the national government's Statistics Division...
, Lappa-Duggi (لپا ڈگی ) in Pashto and Kon ko in khmer
Khmer language
Khmer , or Cambodian, is the language of the Khmer people and the official language of Cambodia. It is the second most widely spoken Austroasiatic language , with speakers in the tens of millions. Khmer has been considerably influenced by Sanskrit and Pali, especially in the royal and religious...
, the Cambodian language.
Origin
There are no records of the game's origin in the South Asia or of its existence before the arrival of Europeans. However a similar game known as Lippa has a history of being played in Italy and southern Europe and Tip-catTip-cat
Tip-cat is a pastime which consists of tapping a short billet of wood with a larger stick ; the shorter piece is tapered or sharpened on both ends so that it can be "tipped up" into the air when struck by the larger, at which point the player...
which was played in the UK. There is a reference to this sport in the medieval Telugu text "Palnati Veera Charitra" by Srinatha
Srinatha
Srinatha was a well-known 15th-century Telugu poet who popularised the Prabandha style of composition.-Biography:Srinatha was born to Bhimamba and Marayya in 1370....
which was written in the later part of 13th Century.
Equipment
The game is played with a gilli and a danda, both of which are wooden sticks. The danda is longer, and the player can swing it easily. The gilli is smaller and is tapered on both sides so that the ends are conicalCone (geometry)
A cone is an n-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a base to a point called the apex or vertex. Formally, it is the solid figure formed by the locus of all straight line segments that join the apex to the base...
. The gilli is analogous to a cricket ball
Bail (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a bail is one of the two smaller sticks placed on top of the three stumps to form a wicket. The bails are used to determine when the wicket is broken, which in turn is one of the critical factors in determining whether a batsman is out bowled, stumped, run out or hit wicket...
and the danda is analogous to a cricket bat
Cricket bat
A cricket bat is a specialised piece of equipment used by batsmen in the sport of cricket to hit the ball. It is usually made of willow wood. Its use is first mentioned in 1624....
.
There is no standard length defined for the danda or the gilli. Usually, the gilli is 3-6 inches long and the danda is 12-18 inches long.
Rules
The objective of the game is to use the danda to strike the gilli. For this purpose, a circle is drawn in the ground in which a small, oblong or spindle-shaped hole is dug (the overall shape looks like a traditional boat). This hole is smaller than the gilli but as the play progresses the size may decrease due to wear. The gilli is inserted into the hole either orthogonallyOrthogonality
Orthogonality occurs when two things can vary independently, they are uncorrelated, or they are perpendicular.-Mathematics:In mathematics, two vectors are orthogonal if they are perpendicular, i.e., they form a right angle...
, or at an angle
Angle
In geometry, an angle is the figure formed by two rays sharing a common endpoint, called the vertex of the angle.Angles are usually presumed to be in a Euclidean plane with the circle taken for standard with regard to direction. In fact, an angle is frequently viewed as a measure of an circular arc...
. Many times, especially with children, no hole is used. The danda is then swung downward onto the end of the gilli, causing the gilli to jump upward. The striker then strikes the gilli outward, away from him. Another variation is when the danda lifts or pries the gilli out of the hole at a high speed.
Scoring and outs
There are many regional variations to scoring.The gilli becomes airborne after it is struck. If a fielder from the opposing team
Team
A team comprises a group of people or animals linked in a common purpose. Teams are especially appropriate for conducting tasks that are high in complexity and have many interdependent subtasks.A group in itself does not necessarily constitute a team...
catches the gilli, the striker is out. If the gilli lands on the ground
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
, the fielder closest to the gilli has one chance to hit the danda (which has to be placed on top of the hole used) with a throw (similar to a run out
Run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...
in cricket). If the fielder is successful, the striker is out; if not, the striker scores one score
Score (game)
In games, score refers to an abstract quantity associated with a player or team. Score is usually measured in the abstract unit of points, and events in the game can raise or lower the score of different parties...
and gets another opportunity to strike. The team (or individual) with the most points wins the game. If the striker fails to hit gilli in three tries, the striker is out (similar to a strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
in baseball).
Teams
There is no official maximum number of players or teams. Gilli-danda can be played where each individual plays for themselves, or between two teams.As Many Player you As much more fun.Variations
As an amateur youth sport, gilli-danda has many variations. A common variation is where the striker is allowed to hit the gilli twice, once initially, and then while the gilli is in the air.In some versions, the points a striker scores is dependent on the distance the gilli falls from the striking point. The distance is measured in terms of the length of the danda, or in some cases the length of the gilli. Scoring also depends on how many times the gilli was hit in the air in one strike. If it travels a certain distance with two mid-air strikes, the total point is doubled.
In Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Dandi biyo
Dandi biyo
Dandi Biyo is a game usually played in rural Nepal. As often believed, Dandi Biyo is not the national game of Nepal, rather, 'Kabbadi' is. Dandi Biyo is played with a help of a stick about two feet long and a wooden pin about half feet long. The pin is a small wooden stick with pointed ends.-How to...
is played in similar fashion.
Similar games
- In the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, a game known as syatong is similar to gilli-danda. - In Italy a similar game known as "Lippa", "Lipe", "Tirolo", or "S-cianco" is shown in the movie Watch Out We Are Mad.
- In the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, a similar game is called pee-wee.
In popular culture
The BollywoodBollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
movie Lagaan
Lagaan
Lagaan is a 2001 Bollywood sports film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. Aamir Khan, who was also the producer for the film, stars with Gracy Singh in the lead roles; British actors Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne play the supporting roles...
mentions the traditional sport of gilli-danda as similar to cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
.
Premchand, the famous Hindi literary figure, wrote a short story named "Gilli-danda" in which he compares old simple times and emotions to modern values and also hints at caste inequalities in India.