Ratto Ratto May 26, 2008
Posted by megcloud9 in Break Free.Tags: childhood, family, galli aata, life, street games in india
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Ratto Ratto maavina Ratto …
Color Color, which color do you choose?
Ispy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10……………..100
Any of these ring a bell?
Let me add Kunte bille, Gate Gate, Lagori, Lock and key, Dog and the bone, ahhh now I see you smiling…
These are some of the very popular childhood galli games that we have all grown up playing.
After scribbling away home-work in our four line ruled books, we would rush out to meet all neighboring friends and begin usually with Lock and Key…running behind one another, passing keys, panting and puffing we would scream time pleaseeeeeee …
After this would either be a relatively less tiring game such as Gate Gate or color color, here you choose a color or a particular gate and we run behind it and hold on to it, whoever doesn’t find one of that color gets chased and eventually is out.
I even found our method of choosing the first person to get out very interesting .We called it claps … Similar claps, out ,else not out … fights over cheating here were common ,so were deadlocks ,sometimes this process of selecting the first person to get out itself would take about 10 minutes ! 
Ispy was always another favorite especially if there were many favorable hiding spots; in fact we used to call it Icespice lol! Begin counting, and chori chori also look where everyone is trying to hide. Great game to explore all the hidden nooks of a house
Lagori was an aggressive game with tennis balls hitting you sharp in your legs and stomach while you tried desperately to arrange the stones in the right order at the centre, Mad rush to arrange them, the person who aimed and threw the ball well always had an advantage!
I wind up with Kunte Bille, one of my all time favorites. Draw rectangular boxes with different numbers and jump in and out of them after throwing a stone in the rightly numbered box, in sequence. It requires skill to jump on one leg in the higher levels of the game!
I don’t see much of these games being played here on my road, by the kids, but they do run around, cycle, play basketball and other games …I have no siblings and bonded with kids of my age many times through these games. I always missed having a brother /sister to play with during my earlier years. These games were also popular in school during our primary years.
I really do wish these games would get more popular rather than couch potato kids playing NFS or any video game now a days. I am not saying they are bad, they are fun too. But kids ought to discover the old-world charm of playing these games
So, which was your favorite childhood street game?
Did you ever cheat in em?
I also remember once a fight happened in these games, the whole evening would be spent brooding over, analyzing whose mistake it was, who cheated; again and again even after getting back home but by the next evening, things would be back to normal!
Yay, A round of Ratto Ratto anyone??
Ratto Ratto Maavana magale
Bitto bitto bhimana magale
Hadhinarambe kaisalaare
Kukkara Basavi, kooora basavi iiii
@Megs – My fav. is Lagori and I was super best in it. We don’t get to play these games now – but I so much wish! About the cheating bit, I don’t think I cheated ever – I would not get involved in those fights but enjoyed other people fighting
I would be like “haan tikh hain, abhi chodna”
Btw, I never heard about Ratto Ratto!!
~RJ
http://the-connexion.blogspot.com
i was not in india when i grew up, sooo i havent played any of these games, though i’;d always wanted to play them as a kid!
but used to play cocoa/lock n key/hide n seek- n yehhhh twas funnnnnn!!!
realll nice read
i was not in india when i grew up, sooo i havent played any of these games under these names, though i’;d always wanted to play them as a kid!
but used to play cocoa/lock n key/hide n seek- n yehhhh twas funnnnnn!!!
realll nice read
one game i even play today,cheating
@Megs – You forgot “Langadi”, “Sonsakli” – I will keep adding names as I remm them
I was even forced to play “teacher teacher” once 
today i discovered that you have switch to wordpress…
the blog reminds so much of my childhood days..since i was in a campus(hmt quarters) i was always surrounded with kids of my age…we were 20 of us ,in our lane alone…
i remember playing ice-spice(hide n seek),kunta bille,lock n key,some game called biscuit- biscuit,color-color,hop n catch,
there was one weired game ’shiva wants’…that was really funny n stupid also
there were games like shuttle cock,even cricket..all these mohulla guys used to cheat soooo much and simp-simply i would be out…
those fights with guys are still freash in my mind…it used to be always girls versus guys
some more weired games were bira-ball(hitting each other with cosco ball)..this game used to hurt sooo much…
i dint see any mention of ‘mane aata’…even guys of our colony used to play this game…i remember cooking rice n sambar n all with actual fire…so many times we used to get caught by aunties n uncles,especially those whose backyard we used to play mane-mane in.
teacher-teacher was fun…we used to make these small books tearing pages from class works…
you are soo ryt..there are around 20 children in my lane..i hardly see them play these..they play football,hide n seek(very rarely)..i hardly see them run,hop,catch etc etc…
ok ,i think for a comment this is too much! couldn’t resist ..
*switched
I LOVE this POST !! WHOAA !!
I stayed in Jayanagar during my childhood days. All the street kids used to form this huge gang and play. Sometimes, I was the only girl in the gang and I used to always hang around with guys that time
I remember playing gate-to-gate and kunte bille !! Kanna Muchhe was the ultimate form of fun !! We used to set the “boundries” as the whole street !! So we could go hide in any of the houses. We used to always jump from house to house and get busted many times !!
Lagori was a bad bad game !
I’ve got hurt so many times while playing that !!
At other times, all the guys used to ALWAYS make me the ‘denner’. Maybe ‘coz I was the only girl there, or maybe ‘coz I was the youngest. *sigh*
Having siblings doesn’t really count kane. I have a sis. No use @ all. Che !!
I so miss playing out these days. In school we play Basket Ball and Volley Ball and stuff.
Oh, yea. We used to collect awesome tiles and stones from streets for Kunte Bille. Lol.
This post got back so many memories !!
@RJ
yeah,i felt very nostalgic while writing this post too.
Ratto Ratto is like a song in kannada,two people sing this song raising their arms and making an arch ..remaining kids run inside the arch and when the last line comes they catch hold of whoever is in the arch at that time and that person gets out,awwwww it sounds too complicated to explain here ! maybe we should play it ,then it is simpler !
and u never cheated come on now ) dont worry,u can share such secrets here,we wont tell anyone
n wats sonsakli?
and teacher teacher,doctor doctor ,mane mane these games r super hilarious !
@jane
see,though u werent in india during ur childhood,u do know of the popular games
what games were popular when u stayed abroad ?during childhood?
@bhavna
i know this post brings back a flood of memories,so no prob if u write a big comment
wats biscuit biscuit ?
i think they were like 200 bucks 
aah,the good old days !
and mane aata we did play it ,but not as adventurous as u guys,playing with real fire ! phew !
we used to play doctor doctor with those kits which we wud get after begging for months
n teacher teacher ,i loved the correction part,giving marks on 10 n writing very good and signing on em! lol
i also liked office games, i used to like making invoice like bills that had company name,items purchased,total amount,blah
yeah,i agree guys always “simp simply” want the girls to get out
even i have had my share of fights,tears and breakups in these games 
@priya
i bet ,looking at the response here,i think we should all meet up and play only street games one full day
and the boundaries part, i remember for gate gate,some aunts n uncles wouldnt be all that happy when we go close to their gates and start screaming ,running,they would frown yet nobody dares stop us from playing
so u,a tomboy,after hanging around with guys? gosh,they make us so strong,cos we can cry once or twice but the next time,we give it back to em
sibling,i always felt the need for a bro or a sis
lonesome me kane
yeah,school,it is always proper sports that gets encouragement,maybe one class per week should be assigned for galli games to revive the good old days
we used to play street games in school when the teacher was absent for taking the hour !
@Megs – I know Ratto Ratto now. But its called something else in Mumbai – where I grew up. I Kinda liked this game coz’ thats the only game when girls catch hold of you
. We surely will play this game sometime!
Sonsakli is like hike and seek. The only difference is if you find somebody hiding and get hold of that person you two form up a chain and find the rest. The chain keeps growing as you find more people. Grrrr..its difficult. Let’s play sonsakli!
Nice Post – I am thinking about other games now. I didn’t like teacher teacher coz’ the girl who always wanted to be a teacher hit me for no reason.
@meg
biscuit-biscuit is like joot-moot.The difference is the denner should be directed to someone saying ‘person’s name biscuit’.It was so stupid,yet very innovative.
so meghana biscuit:)
I like RJ biscuit!
The other biscuits would be Sandeep biscuit, Megs biscuit, Bhavna biscuit, vishesh biscuit and parle-g biscuit
@bhav
i still didnt get it !
n @RJ
yeah,u r nuts anyways
u r always online is it !?u respond to comments real quick,neat !
@Megs – Yea, 9am-5pm my work time I am online
and that says a lot!! And u called me nut!! HUH! 
u walnut!
@meg
Its very simple ya.Now, suppose you are the denner and you are trying to catch hold of me.You are running after me,and me panting for breath.Instead of “time please” i say “RJ biscuit”.Then you have to run after RJ.You have to run after him only not after anybody else no matter how close in distance you are to them.
understood?
Ah.. I’m done finally!
Took more time to read comments than read the post!
I played lagori few months back.. was awesome fun..
@RJ biscuit, you didn’t understand the game dude.. read bhavna’s comment..
Of all the comments..
Best comment is by kaling: ‘one game i even play today,cheating’
Hillarious!
@San – Yea, now I understood. So now I am panting
and I say Sandeep biscuit! LOL! I swear I am not gay!!
and @Bhav – Thanks for the clarification. The biscuit game sounds fun!!
@Megs – wat say?
@RJ and Bhav
yeah i got the hang of the game now
n sandeep,whom do u get to play lagori with ?! dont temme office mates
n kaling’s comment yeah well,tryin to be a smart ass,wont work here for him though :X
@megcloud9
Lagori was with few college friends..
@RJ
thanks for that clarification
Nice post. Made me remember my childhood days. During summer holidays, we used to spend whole day playing some game. And i remember, sometimes we used to create our own game and play
” I bet ,looking at the response here,i think we should all meet up and play only street games one full day ”
I’m game for it !!
The aunties would always be angry at us ‘coz we used to break the pots, spoil their munde mane trees and spill rangoli dabbas !! Ahh !!
Tomboy. Yeah, you can call it that. It was the most amazing time of my life !! During summer holidays, we all used to wake up early in the morning and come back home only in the night !! Sometimes, we used to play till 10 and all !!
One thing I remember is when there was a new house which was constructed, then we used to build tunnels and stuff on the sand !! Make houses and dig it from one side till our hands reached. We also collected “kappe-chippu”.
On the siblings : Maybe this can make yu feel better !
http://pricelessjunk.wordpress.com/2007/04/05/sibling-woes/
Had posted it a long time back !!
We get games everyday @ school !! But the thing is, everytime, its only me and my friend who actually get out and play. All the other girls sit in class and study !! Even now, I play VB with the guys only.
Guess I’ve remained a ‘tomboy’ since my childhood !!
( I really find it funny when you say “princess” ‘coz I’m more of a Devilish sorts !!
) Eeeeeeeeeeeee !! 
I actually made a one whole post in that comment !!!!! *whoa*
nobody asked me what shiva wants is?!:(
@Bhavna – Shoot! What is it? Btw – RJ wants a 3 week break from work
”
Hi! i have never been to india but i always try to listen your music. i like that. just i want to say that.
Hello no sign of indoor games, board games
Pagade with dice (shakuni mama)
Snake n ladder
chowka bharha,with all the sea shells
And that with tamarind seeds and two wooden log with 12dips
I forgot what u call that game??
thank u! I will do the honour.
Its like this.The odd one out(selected in various ways) becomes the denner.Here denner is called shiva.He/she is the hero/ine of the game.When shiva asks you to do something you have to do that task no matter what.As you can see, its a very dangerous game.He can ask things like- ” give me your hair(part of it),pinch somebody,eat grass” etc etc.
I have pinched,hit,slapped others this way.Loved it!!.
@Radhesh
yeah,imaginary games,we were really so innocent then ! mane aata ,cook food n do ghar ka kaam,only that we girls used to
while guys went to “office” 
@priya
hey i think you should write a detailed post on ur childhood,ur memories seem really nice ! n u still have a year or more of playing to do ! enjoy the games hour to the maximum in college
i still miss em 
can make nikhil run around the whole day hehehehe !
and yeah,bloggers reunion we must playlock n key
@bhavna
shiva wants whoa ! the name itself is highly intriguing ! and we can play this in class now
awesomeee fun,it slightly sounds like the “truth or dare” game except for that there is no truth option here 
but eat grass ?!!really gross
@RJ
but i wud be happy,u will have to sit n comment on every post if u take any break ,utilise the time well 
break from work ? poor u
@kaling
aah those days !
of course ! great observation ! yeah board games were always fun,so were card games ,i think the 12 tamarind ones is called ” chauka baara” i never really understood pagade ! too complicated !
snake n ladders pure luck !
i remember in cards we had this game called “Bank” similar to pauper.
you could either win or lose miserably ! me n a cousin of mine lost once and she was so angry she threw away the entire pack of cards on our faces n ran away crying !
@Megs – 30 comments…time for a new post
” can make nikhil run around the whole day ”
ROFL !!! That would be like the BEST entertainment ever !!
Btw, I’ve already made a post on my childhood here !! No use writing it all over again.
phew! so many comments! But enjoyed the names and games…