“Stories of play tell us much about how people lived, how they interacted, how they built relationships and even how they loved,” says Vinita Sidhartha, founder of Kreeda. The Chennai-based toy company has been researching, developing and reviving traditional Indian games for almost 20 years. Now it has introduced The Kreeda Travelling Journal, which will help document people’s experience of the past and their memories of play. The journal will travel from person to person in different parts of the world, allowing them to document their recollections by writing, painting, sketching or in any other form.
Vinita recalls how the Kreeda team would visit old age homes to collect information about the games the senior citizens had played. “With COVID-19, such interactions have become difficult. The Travelling Journal is an effort to capture people’s experiences in playing traditional games. It is not merely enough to revive the games, which we have been doing, but it is also important to understand the spirit in which they were played.”
As part of this documentation, 20 beautifully created journals will begin their journey next week across India and to different countries—Singapore, Malaysia, USA, UK and Europe— in the world. “A person who receives the journal uses a two-page spread to detail their experiences. Families can assist senior citizens in doing this too,” says Vinita. Once completed, the journal is passed on to the next person, and then the next until it is full. The journals are then sent back to Kreeda. “We will track the journal and provide updates from time to time,” says Vinita.
Those interested in documenting their experiences with the wonderful traditional games of India can contact +91 9841748309 or log on to www.kreedagames.com
