The study of play through time and across cultures has consistently demonstrated that, it is a multi-faceted phenomenon being ubiquitous among diverse human societies. The present paper makes an humble endeavour to intricate how different types of traditional games of rural children is being enriched with cultural heritage of a society and act as a source of transmission of knowledge. It also makes a critical examination of the changing scenario of children’s games in contemporary society. The study has been conducted among the school going children in the rural pockets of Western Odisha where local populace is getting dodged and western forms of entertainment is gaining popularity.
This article builds on Allison James and Alan Prout's call to focus more on theorizing the social construction of time in childhood and explores how school, as an organization and an experience, influences students' conceptions of childhood and experiences of being a child. Extending the conception of time of childhood to include their future projections, we assert that aspiring to become an adult, while seeming to diminish the experience of childhood, actually provides motivation and hope to children. We also posit that school's emphasis on "preparation to become" influences children's experience in school and "imagined futures" as adults. The article is based on interviews with Indian tribal students between the ages of 9 and 15 who attended school at a residential school serving 25,000 students and at government day schools in Odisha, India.
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