Carnatic Snakes and Ladders game!

[Rsachi]

Dear Rasikas,
I don't know if it was the good lunch or the siesta later, but I was inspired to create a game:

Carnatic Snakes and Ladders

If you click the link above, you will go to my blog post where you can read about it and play the game.

Disclaimer:
It is not about performers or experts, it is about a normal concert-goer's experiences.
It is a mere time-pass, with malice toward none.
It reflects the wide range of musical experiences that came my way in the last year.

Would love to hear your comments!
Sachi R

[mahavishnu]

brilliant!

[rajeshnat]

Rsachi
Liked your creativity,ages since I played those paramapadam(snake and ladder).With only 64 nos, it may be bit limiting to play. I particularly liked the ladder from Sangeet utsav to goto gottuvAdhyam.

Few years back we used to have Suji ram, Arunk , naarayanan and DRS create few great crossword puzzles, I am assuming you did not join the forum then. Try those you will enjoy.Try searching crossword you will like it .

[Rsachi]

Rajeshnat,
Yes! I did try some of the Sruti crosswords early on. Couldn't get some wonky clues.

Thx. I tweaked the appearance a bit just now.
In the "paramapadasOpAnapaTamu" as it was called in my childhood, it had 100 squares and a deadly snake could bring you down from 99 to 1. It was printed cheap, newspaper size BW, and we played with slate stone 'dALa' pair as we called them.
I simply added the Rasika paradigm. That's it.

[classicallover]

The " paramapadasOpaanapaThamu " is a Telugu version of an ancient game which was printed first in Thanjavur , if I can recall someone telling me, during the late 1800s - early 1900s on newspaper size in B/W . It was later popularised by some publishers in Guntur, A.P.. This was the best pastime during the " shivaraatri jaagaraNa " apart from the " daayakaTTam ". The pair of dice called " daayakaTTaigaL " used were variously made of slate stone, marble, ceramic, wood, reinforced cotton fibre, etc.. But the most popular were of panchaloha and brass which were deemed to be sacred and kept in puja room only. The game was not allowed to be played on any other evening . It was believed that one who dies on Shivaraatri, especially while playing this game, would in all probability attain moksha.

[Rsachi]

Interesting!

[Rsachi]

Found it in a blog: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oYP06aYz0qg/T ... tapali.jpg

In Kannada it was 'paTa' to mean a screen or board.

[classicallover]

This is a Vaishnavaite board. The original was Saivaite version with the Meenakshi Parinayam scene in the centre on top.

Just look at it seriously and you will notice that the centre picture is just above the square no. 127 having the letter "sO" . In Samskritam, sO would become sa: ( सह ) meaning ' he ' . This game or board being divine, it would be " He " meaning that " He is the one to be attained finally at the end of it all ( life or lives ). It was believed that anyone playing this game and winning it without being gobbled up by a snake even once on Sivarathri would become a very great or enlightened person. The dice pair was called " paachikalu " in Telugu.

The game is an indication of the so many ups & downs in one's life or all the lives ( janmas ) before attaining " paramapada " that is salvation.

' paTa ' in Kannada like in Telugu also means photo or portrait , isn't it ? Moreover, this is a corruption of the original Samskritam word " paramapadasOpaanapatha " meaning the circular or winding staircase like path to attaining salvation. The English word 'path' comes from Samskritam's " patha " meaning way or direction. In the olden days, the paths to the hilltop shrines were very tedious fraught with too many dangers like, carnivorous animals, snakes, eagles, monkeys, bears, all of whom can cause death to the traveller. This game is an indication of that too.