India is the second most populous nation in the world, home to more than a billion people. So, what do all those people do with their free time? Of course, sports and games are as popular in India as anywhere else, but recreational activities have special significance here.
India is the world’s first genuinely international nation, serving as a hub between Asia, Africa, and Europe since the beginning of recorded time. As a result, its culture reflects a strong international character that connects India and its extensive history with a world of play.
India’s most popular game: Cricket
The people of India have mastered several sports over the centuries, but none can rival the popularity of cricket. Cricket is a game played between two teams of 11 players who take turns batting and fielding. The game begins when the “bowler” of the fielding team bowls a ball at a set of wooden stumps called a wicket.
Next, a batsman attempts to hit the ball with a flattened bat hard enough to give the player a chance to run the length of the field, earning a point called a “run”. To many Americans, this game may sound vaguely familiar; cricket and baseball share a typical English ancestry.
Badminton
Another popular game in India with a similar history is Badminton. Badminton is a racket game in which players hit a stuffed and feathered cork back and forth. Whoever fails to keep the cork in the air loses. This game, called shuttlecock initially, was popular with British officers stationed in India in the 19th century.
Officials in the Indian city of Pune formalized the game, giving it the rules of modern Badminton, but the name Poona. Poona became famous throughout India and was refined by Indian soldiers and citizens. It was then taken back to England, where the Duke of Beaufort introduced it to his country estate of Badminton. The game remains incredibly popular in both India and England today.
Chess
We can also see the international importance of Indian games in another quite famous one: chess.
People play chess worldwide, but unlike cricket or Badminton, it is Indian in its origins.
The predecessors of modern chess first appeared in the archaeological record about 1,500 years ago in northern India. However, it is possibly even older than that. Originally it was played with four sets of pieces, infantry, cavalry, elephant unit, and chariot unit, roughly equivalent to pawn, knight, bishop, and rook.
The ancestor of chess was played in India at least as early as the 7th century AD when the Persians of the region first wrote about it and sent it back to the Arabian Peninsula. They added a king piece and took the game with them throughout their expansive global trading empire.
Chess made its way to Europe by at least the 9th century and entered China shortly after that. The Chinese developed their version of chess, as did the Europeans who reintroduced it to India under the British Empire.
India’s technological development over the past decade
In the last period, the Indian market has witnessed significant economic development, especially in the IT field.
This remarkable development has been characterized by several factors, including a widespread command of English, a network of foreign entrepreneurs who have decided to invest in the country, and an extensive network of young consumers inclined to spend on new technologies.
Note that today India is the second-largest smartphone-producing country in the world. Young Indians are keeping up with the times, playing video games, using social media, and even since 2021, it has become legal to play at the best online casinos in India.
With a population of over a billion and an economy growing at a hyperbolic rate for years, India is poised to be the next great frontier of gambling.
For now, physical casinos are legal only in a few states. In contrast, Indian online casinos (where you can play any game, from poker to Keno) are legal in most states, and most importantly, they are safe, which means that there is no risk of scams. In addition, they offer countless promotions, welcome bonuses, and live dealers that make you feel like you are playing in a physical casino.
Conclusion
Games have a long and proud tradition in India, where various forms of competition have defined India’s international presence for centuries, if not longer.
Technology is causing new games to be developed, including digital ones, but Indian traditions will remain etched in history forever.
