Seven-year-old V. Arun walks into a colourfully lit air-conditioned room fitted with a giant screen on the wall. He stands a few feet away from it and gives out certain oral commands. In no time, a projector placed close to the ceiling displays a list of options on the screen. He selects one of them, not physically but virtually.
He does not use a remote control or a joystick. He does not even move an inch from the place where he is standing. Yet he picks his choice by juxtaposing his hand near the option he had selected and gesticulating on air as if he is pressing it. This time, the projector recognises his gesture and plays a peppy song that he has selected.
All this is neither a description of a scene from a science fiction movie or an experience of some Indian children at a video gaming centre in Singapore or Malaysia. All this is happening right at Madurai, a city that has been undergoing changes, albeit slowly, in every sphere of life. And when it comes to change, the way children of Madurai entertain themselves is no exception.
Apart from arcade video games that are custom made and created locally, children from different economic strata here are now getting to lay their hands even on hi-tech gaming consoles such as Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation; their motion sensing devices — Kinect and Move — and even Apple ipads for as less as Rs. 100 for half an hour of play in multiple devices.
Not happy with the trend, B. Rajendran, a 62-year-old former government servant, says that traditional games such as Kittipul (gilli danda), Goli gundu (marbles) and kite flying have become almost archaic as not only urban children but also rural children do not seem to show any interest in these games. While children in rural pockets are glued to television, those in urban localities get addicted to video gaming, he laments.
On the other hand, S. Premalatha, Senior Principal of Mahatma Group of Schools here, says that video games have their own advantages and therefore they cannot be dismissed completely.
“A. Premkumar, proprietor of a gaming centre here, says that Madurai cannot afford to lag behind especially when computer gaming has become a US $ 25 billion a year entertainment behemoth.
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