Boys will be boys. Put an idle bunch together — any place in the world, any time in history — and chances are they will either get up to no good or start playing an improvised game. Sometimes they will do both at the same time.
Dial back to a school corridor on a Monday afternoon in 1984. Three 17-year-old boys were leaning against a wall, bored senseless. One of them was ricocheting a tennis ball off the opposite wall. Another was playing one-handed catch with a bottle of Zippo lighter fluid. The third (me) was staring into space.
What we did next involved no planning or conversation. Seventeen-year-old boys are blessed with a kind of telepathy that tacitly prompts them into unified action. What did we have at our disposal? A ball, lighter fluid and a corridor. We soused the ball with the fluid, lit it and converted the corridor into a field of play. Fireball was born.
Imagine a similar trio of boys in the plains of rural India on a Monday afternoon centuries ago. They are leaning against a banyan tree in a dusty clearing, bored senseless. One is swishing a two-foot-long rounded stick. Another is absently whittling a three-inch-long stick so that it is slightly tapered at each end. The third — by far the best looking of the trio — is staring into space.
Two sticks and a dusty clearing. They draw a circle on the ground, roughly four feet in diameter. The small stick (call it a gilli) is placed in the circle. The first boy hits one end of the gilli with his bat-like stick (call it a danda), propelling the smaller stick into the air. He then thwacks the spinning gilli as far as he can. The other two boys try to catch it. Gilli-danda is born.
It is equally possible that the story was played out in the foothills of the Himalayas or in a village in Cambodia or beside a Venetian canal in the time of Marco Polo. Boys are boys, and sticks are easy to find. Variations of the stick-on-stick game have emerged throughout the world, including the United States, where it is known as pee-wee.
But the modern heartland of the sport is India. In some places it is played interchangeably with cricket, and at first glimpse from a distance it is often difficult to work out if the game in progress is cricket or gilli-danda.
Some Indian nationalists have asserted that gilli-danda is the forerunner of cricket, though it is more likely that the widespread passion for the bat-and-ball game on the subcontinent altered the game play of the traditional pastime, which in turn fed back into cricket.
Indian cricketers are renowned for the wristy way they wield the bat to strike the ball. When you watch a boy using the danda to strike a gilli, you can see the prototype for that distinctive action. Similarly, the catchers in gilli-danda develop unique hand-eye coordination that they take onto the cricket field, leading to success and adulation.
A quarter of a century after my participation in the invention of fireball, I was walking along a street in the Spanish city of Valencia when a firecracker landed in front of me, spewing angry sparks. Instinctively I drew on my experience of kicking a tennis ball wrapped in flames. With a deft flick of my foot, I volleyed the firecracker into the empty road, where it exploded harmlessly.
The games an idle boy plays make the man.
Read This Next
All Reads on This Topic
Read Them All
Introducing
FX Excursions
FX Excursions offers the chance for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in destinations around the world.
#globility
Insta FeedMarch 2024
Mar 27, 2024Udaipur Unveiled: A Walking Tour in Rajasthan’s Most Romantic City Reveals Its Many Layers
Anyone who makes their way to Rajasthan in northern India has likely heard of Udaipur’s allure. The city revered for its lakes and marble palaces is considered by many who know not only the Indian subcontinent but the planet as a whole to be the most spectacularly romantic city on Earth.
Sponsored Content
Briggs & Riley: Elevate Your Journey with Quality Luggage
Embracing a life well lived often means embracing a life well-traveled. Every journey becomes a canvas for experiences that shape our lives and at the heart of every adventure lies the indispensable companion: quality luggage.
Daily
Mar 27, 2024Go Island Hopping in Spain with Meliá Hotels International
It’s time to start planning summer travel. Consider a chic island getaway off the coast of Spain. Spain’s Meliá Hotels International offers a collection of hotels throughout the islands that highlight the Spanish lifestyle.
Daily
Mar 27, 2024“Deal or No Deal” Interactive Game Show Comes to Holland America Line
Holland America Line expands its entertainment offerings by launching the game show brand Deal or No Deal on nine ships. TimePlay, an entertainment software company, powers the show format, with a highly adaptable design and strong brand identity, on more than 85 ships worldwide.
Sponsored Content
Exclusive Savings: Cruise Along the Danube River with Global Traveler
Exclusive Sailing with Global Traveler
eFlyer Reviews
Mar 27, 2024Hotel Indigo La Paz Puerta Cortés Review
Hotel Indigo La Paz Puerta Cortés is an oasis where the desert meets the sea, nestled between the Sea of Cortez and La Paz Bay in Mexico. With an emphasis on providing guests a relaxing experience through wellness and culture activities, the hotel is a short 10-minute drive from Downtown La Paz, Mexico. Upon entrance under the porte cochere you are greeted with a palette of whites and browns, a theme constant throughout the property.
Japan Airlines Purchases 32 Airbus, 10 Boeing
eFlyer News
Mar 27, 2024eFlyer Lead
Mar 27, 2024Aeromexico Named Most Punctual Airline in the World
Cirium, a global aviation analytics company, recently released the most on-time airlines in the world for early 2024. The study found Aeromexico as the most improved airline in February, with a 90.66 percent on-time performance, a 12.5-point increase in on-time performance over January 2024.
Sponsored Content
L’Ermitage Beverly Hills: A Discreet Hideaway Awaits
Nestled between the palm-lined boulevards of residential Beverly Hills, L'Ermitage evokes a sense of refined elegance and unparalleled service. This Forbes Five-Star and AAA Five Diamond haven continues to captivate discerning travelers and Angelenos with its unwavering dedication to personalized hospitality.
Daily
Mar 27, 2024Hyatt Regency Chicago Unveils Renovations This Spring
Half a century ago, several architecturally significant buildings not only changed the face of Chicago but also reintroduced the city as a world-class travel destination. Roughly a year after the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) emerged as the then world’s tallest building, Hyatt Regency Chicago opened its doors in August 1974. A second tower was constructed in 1980, making it one of the most ambitious hotels the city had seen, down to its above-ground skyway and underground concourse.
ShareThis