Children at Play

Japanese inspired toys like Pokemons and those expensive fancy spinning tops were all the rage some time back and every kid wanted one. But these kids follow the hallowed tradition of making their own spinner-cutters. A soft drink bottle cap is flattened and two small holes punched in at the centre. Tie a piece of sturdy string through the holes and voila, your spinner is ready. A few whirls to wind it up and the circular 'blade' spins like a rotary cutter. Two cutters can then compete to 'destroy' each other. The cost...zero! I remember playing with these in my childhood.
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Some decades back, the terms 'pinch hitter' and 'Pitcher's Mound' would have been Greek to Goans. But here's a match between Mustifund School of Panjim versus St.Bartolomeu's of Chorao! I don't recall baseball figuring anywhere in my childhood!
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A bunch of schoolkids dashing around a park in Panjim while their less privileged counterparts, probably daughters of migrant labour, play on the swings. The girl child from poorer communities in India still has a long way to go.

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The spirit of children at play, which adults could do with a little more, is frozen in metalwork at the circle near the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at Fatorda, Margao.