Sports enthusiast Amitabh Satyam spent his childhood on the field. Having grown up in a village in Sheohar, Bihar, he remembers playing innumerable games—all local favourites—sometimes on trees, or with lathis and stones. Mostly, Satyam and his friends loved a good chase, even if it was on one leg or moving stealthily like a gidad (jackal). Strategy was key. 

Later, representing his college in gymnastics and athletics, and becoming absorbed with the more glamorous squash, golf, tennis and badminton, the games of his youth took precedence. “But these days, children barely play anything,” the Bengaluru resident tells us over a telephonic chat. Children, especially in cities, spend more time inside their homes, peering into their smart phones. “Sports adds tremendous value to life. It helps you deal with conflict and resource management, and problem solving... we wanted to bring back this culture that we are slowly losing,” he shares, of why he co-wrote the just released, The Games India Plays (Bloomsbury India) with his friend Sangeeta Goswami, who is a practising counselling psychologist and co-ordinator at experimental methodology school promoting integral education.