Abstract
The favourite games and amusements in a community indicate fairly the standard of culture which they have reached in their tastes and their fancies. The games and amusements of the Andhras in the Reddi period make an interesting and useful study. Many of these have taken such a deep root in the tradition of the people that even to-day they hold their ground and fill the countryside with innocent merriment. Age and social changes have, no doubt, resulted in the disappearance of some, but several still linger in remote parts of the country. The decay of feudalism, the growth of towns, railways and cinemas, and the impact of western culture, have all been responsible for the disappearance of many of these indigenous pastimes. Some of the games and amusements contributed to the health and proper development of the body, while some others gave scope for the play of intellect and individual skill. Spectacles and diversions, such as wandering minstrels with their tamburas and cymbals, conjurers with their skilful feats of magic and sleight of hand, dombaris or rope-dancers and great gymnasts with their feats of strength and skill, Bhagavatas, or the stage-players with their yakshaganas or dramas set to music and dance, ballad singers with their emotional narrative songs and rustic dances, and puppet-players with their beautifully-trimmed leather puppets representing mythological characters, and painted with variegated colours and adorned with ornaments of different kinds, all these contributed to the enjoyment of the people. The votaries of these pursuits enriched and gave colour to the social life of the village, for which the society in its turn treated them with affection and showed its appreciation by customary dues and other gifts. These professional actors had also annuities or yearly grants in kind from every village. The holiday season of the village generally commenced with the annual wedding festival (kalyanotsava) of the village god, or with the jatara or the annual feast of the village goddess. Generally, this festive season was the period when the professional players and actors who had annuities from the village, visited it, and gave performances. The chief items of entertainment in those days were music and dance
