Doodh-pak is a sweet. But it is synonymous with an institution pervasive in the society I grew up in.
For a 6-year old their elder brothers and sisters are like gods. They are infinitely more capable and they make you feel safe. But like gods they are not always there. And very much like gods, they like to play with other people like themselves, instead of spending all their time thinking about you.
And thus the 6-year-old sits on the fence or the boundary and watch the games the gods play. Pakada-pakadi (Tag?), Thappo (hide and seek), Nargoliyu (see footnotes), Cricket, and what not.
The six year old watches the gods play and completely immerses himself in the excitement, forgets his physical reality... And then in happens, a mere human wants to rise and join the ranks of the gods!
"I want to play! I want to play!"
"Hey! He is too young, he will not be able to catch anyone. No no we can't let you play!" interjects a more pragmatic and meritocratic god.
"Come on! Let him play, he will not get in anyone's way," a more generous (likely female) deity defends.
"Okay, you are doodh-pak. Listen everyone this one is doodh-pak. Okay? Let's continue our game."
And there it is! Explained and understood.
Doodh-pak is a player in training. They play like everyone else, almost. If everyone is running they run. If everyone is running away from someone they also run away from that person. They learn what the gods were doing, the laws of the universe, but safe in their doodh-pak shield. They are not chased too often. They are allowed to get tagged many times before they have to be the dav (it). And when they are the dav, it is not for too long: organically, one of the more pious and generous deities will alleviate them of their burden and they can start running around free!
Much later they will realise Doodh-pak is childhood itself, the sweet growing up.
Nargoliyu: A game played in two teams. It begins with one person of a team will hit a pile of 7 rocks with a ball. Then the players of this team (A) will have to put the pile of rocks back in order while the other team (B) try to catch the ball and throw the balls at the A team. Anyone from A team who is hit with the ball is dead in fact they are not allowed to to touch the ball at all.
For a 6-year old their elder brothers and sisters are like gods. They are infinitely more capable and they make you feel safe. But like gods they are not always there. And very much like gods, they like to play with other people like themselves, instead of spending all their time thinking about you.
And thus the 6-year-old sits on the fence or the boundary and watch the games the gods play. Pakada-pakadi (Tag?), Thappo (hide and seek), Nargoliyu (see footnotes), Cricket, and what not.
The six year old watches the gods play and completely immerses himself in the excitement, forgets his physical reality... And then in happens, a mere human wants to rise and join the ranks of the gods!
"I want to play! I want to play!"
"Hey! He is too young, he will not be able to catch anyone. No no we can't let you play!" interjects a more pragmatic and meritocratic god.
"Come on! Let him play, he will not get in anyone's way," a more generous (likely female) deity defends.
"Okay, you are doodh-pak. Listen everyone this one is doodh-pak. Okay? Let's continue our game."
And there it is! Explained and understood.
Doodh-pak is a player in training. They play like everyone else, almost. If everyone is running they run. If everyone is running away from someone they also run away from that person. They learn what the gods were doing, the laws of the universe, but safe in their doodh-pak shield. They are not chased too often. They are allowed to get tagged many times before they have to be the dav (it). And when they are the dav, it is not for too long: organically, one of the more pious and generous deities will alleviate them of their burden and they can start running around free!
Much later they will realise Doodh-pak is childhood itself, the sweet growing up.
Nargoliyu: A game played in two teams. It begins with one person of a team will hit a pile of 7 rocks with a ball. Then the players of this team (A) will have to put the pile of rocks back in order while the other team (B) try to catch the ball and throw the balls at the A team. Anyone from A team who is hit with the ball is dead in fact they are not allowed to to touch the ball at all.
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