On the eve of Onam, Pakida Kali, a game having similarity with chess and dice games, is inviting one to the excitement and enthusiasm associated with the festival, making the rural sporting event widely practised in the villages. Similar to the Choothu Kali mentioned in Mahabharata, this is practised with a flurry of excitement by the people of the villages like Nattassery, Payyappady and Manganam to name a few.
Some sports clubs have included the item in their repertoire of sporting events. The game is played on a platform made of wood in which Kalams are drawn. The Pakida, a specially designed copper or brass playing instrument, will be spread into the 12 Kalams similar to that of a chess board and the movements will be made with the help of a tool made of a plantain piece named Choothu.
The Pakida Kali begins at least a few months before the season and culminates during Onam. The game begins with the Pakida spreading into the Kalam with the shouting of Pakida Panthrandu accompanied by the movements of Choothu which lasts even for three to four hours. “Two teams comprising each of two persons contest face to face capturing the excitement of the season,” A.S. Suresh Kumar, the secretary of the Sreeramavilasam NSS Karayogam, which conducted a tournament in Nattassery, explains.
“The excitement gets increased by each movement. So is the excitement of onlookers. .” They practised the game for many decades in these places during the season. Apart from the four playmates in two of the teams, there will be a Porukaran, the helmsman who makes the movements in the Kalam, with each of the teams. The more skilled the Porukaran, the game will be advantageous to the team.
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