Gillidanda

Two boys playing gillidanda on the ghats of the Ganga river in Varanasi, India

Gillidanda is an ancient sport originating from South Asia that is still widely played throughout South Asia. The sport is also found as far north as the Mediterranean and as far east as Southeast Asia. It was a precursor to cricket in South Asia.[1]

The game is played with two sticks: a large one called a danda, which is used to hit a smaller one, the gilli.[2] It bears many similarities to bat and ball games such as cricket and baseball.

Gullidanda is an ancient sport, possibly with origins over 2500 years ago.[3][4]

  1. ^ Armstrong, Gary; Bates, Crispin (2001). "Selves and others: Reflections on sport in South Asia". Contemporary South Asia. 10 (2): 191–205. doi:10.1080/09584930120083800. hdl:20.500.11820/22dfa8c8-d809-49f6-9a72-07c50ac1130d. ISSN 0958-4935.
  2. ^ "Gilli Danda". India Mapped. Archived from the original on 20 April 2014.
  3. ^ Steve Craig (2002), Sports and Games of the Ancients: (Sports and Games Through History), ISBN 978-0-313-31600-5, pages 63–65
  4. ^ Arlott, John, ed. (1975). The Oxford companion to sports & games. Oxford University Press. p. 414. ISBN 0-19-211538-3. Gilli danda is an ancient game. It was played, more or less in its present form, about 5,000 years ago.