The spirit of Pakida Kali, a traditional game of dice, has returned to Cuddalore near Thrithala. Sports fans in Cuddalore organized the Kerala Pakeeda Kali tournament that began in January 2020 and concluded last Monday.
The COVID-19 pandemic had brought a halt; But the enthusiasm of the people of Cuddalore for the game prompted them to restart the tournament and end with a spirited manner.
It was celebrated filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan who inaugurated the tournament on January 14, 2020. Speaker MB Rajesh gave away the prizes to the winners at a function held in Kudallur on Saturday.
Pakeeda team from Moscow Irumbilim of Malappuram district defeated Thekkumpadam Town team of the same district to win the championship. 64 teams from Thrissur, Palakkad and Malappuram participated in the tournament organized under the patronage of Adoor Gopalakrishnan.
Sri Gopalakrishnan became obsessed with the game after it was promoted by MT Vasudevan Nair through his novels. Sri Nair, who grew up in Kudallur, has imbibed the spirit of Pakeeda Kali in many of his novels, including random,
Konthunni Nair, one of the characters who excelled in one of his novels, Pakeeda Kali, was a real-life character from Cuddalore.
GV Devadasan, president of Kudallur Pakeeda Kali Sangham, which organized the tournament, said, “We have been invited by people from different parts of Kerala, especially Kottayam, to not only promote the game there but also to teach them tricks. Too.”
Mr Devadasan said that the tournament saw intense fighting lasting more than two days. One of the semi-finals fought between Thekkumpadam and Cherattamanna took 57 hours, saving the players a break of one hour. Without sleep, they used to play. The Moscow Irumbilium had to fight for 41 hours in a row to win the championship in the final.
“Although it is believed to be a village game played on the floor of cow dung, it requires extraordinary intelligence and attention. This is a mind game. It is a matter of pride for the people of Kudallur. And there was a time when people from other places were afraid to take on the Kudallur Pakida Kali team,” said Mr. Devadasan.
The players of Cuddalore were the masters of the game. It was the late MV Kunhan from Cuddalore who taught actor Mohanlal to play the game of pakida in one of his films.
Very few people make twin bronze pakida (dice), which weigh about 1.4 kg. This game played on 96 fours has its own unique name and rules. And the people of Cuddalore love it and enjoy its fighting spirit.