Gella-Chutt Explained

Gella-Chutt (transl. "the king ran away") is a traditional Indian game from Tripura.[1] [2] In the game, one team has a king stationed in a "prison", which is at a distance from the "home" area. The goal of the king is to reach home with the help of his teammates ("guards") without being tagged by the opponents.[3]

Variants

A similar Bengali game exists known as "Bouchi", in which the king and guards are instead referred to as the "bride" and "bride-snatchers". The bride-snatchers are allowed to tag and eliminate the opponents before the bride starts running towards the home, provided that they hold their breaths once they leave the home; a bride-snatcher who fails to hold their breath can themselves be tagged out by an opponent.[4] [5] [6]

In Hindi, a similar game is known as budhiya kabaddi, with the king considered to be an old lady.[7] Another name for the game is Sita Udhar, which references the scene from the Ramayana where Sita is saved from the demons of Lanka.

The Western equivalent to Gella-Chutt is prisoner's base.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The lesser known Indian sports . 2023-10-18 . www.msn.com.
  2. Book: Britannica . Student Britannica India 7 Vols . Popular Prakashan . 978-0-85229-762-9 . en.
  3. Book: Satyam . Amitabh . The Games India Plays: Indian Sports Simplified . Goswami . Sangeeta . 2022-04-18 . Bloomsbury Publishing . 978-93-5435-256-0 . en.
  4. Book: Nasim, Md Abu . Stadiums in Calcutta: A New Genre of Sports Culture . 2021-04-17 . Notion Press . 978-1-63806-579-1 . en.
  5. Web site: Traditional Games of Bangladesh . 2022-11-16 . unesdoc.unesco.org.
  6. Web site: Express . The Financial . Long lost childhood games in Bangaldesh . 2022-11-16 . The Financial Express . en.
  7. Book: Murari, Dr Mayank . Jharkhand Ke Anjane Khel: Bestseller Book by Dr. Mayank Murari: Jharkhand Ke Anjane Khel . 2021-01-01 . Prabhat Prakashan . 978-93-86870-65-0 . hi.