Playing with an Imaginary Ball
GREEN PARK MARKET
Participants: Anant, Arushi, Sameer, Amu, Smita, Shena
Observer: Mallika
Simple idea. Simple agenda. Stupendous results!
The idea – play with an imaginary ball.
The ‘agenda’ – give some people some fun and invite them to
play – to exercise their imagination and sense of joyfulness
Mission – accomplished!!
Precisely because the idea was so simple – it worked like a charm. People immediately get the idea of the ‘ball’. Most people who joined in, once they moved past the idea of the strangeness of it, got into the (theatre?) game with full belief, allowing themselves to have fun and to be a part of a happy coincidence in their day.
Besides those who stayed at the periphery, recording the proceedings on their phones, was a succession of people who took part good-naturedly.
There was the Café Coffee Day delivery guy who didn’t miss a beat on his way somewhere with what looked like a jam bottle in one hand – catching the ‘ball’ with his other hand and throwing it back to someone before grinning and going on his way. The gentleman who decided to turn the ‘throw and catch’ game into a cricket match and who subsequently hit a six – lopping the ‘ball’ over the cars onto the other side of the street. Luckily, Sameer had another ‘ball’ in his pocket (heh heh heh… actually, he had a bunchaballs in there) – and so the game continued.
Collective imagination was in play as one girl tried to balance the ‘ball’ on her head … and the rest of us gathered around her, ready to catch it in case it fell. One lovely lady who was busy taking a video of what was going on was in a fix when someone handed her the ‘ball’, suddenly making her a participant rather than an outside viewer. Not to be deterred, she found ways in which to continue selfying herself as now inside the game while simultaneously throwing the ball to someone else! Good job whoever you were! (We know you took this blog address, so maybe you’re reading this right now!)
There was the shop owner who thoroughly enjoyed the surreptitious passing-the-ball-behind-your-back section of the game and joined in with full cloak-and-dagger feel (we were trying to avoid the dog there who not only KNEW, but was – um - upset at the strange goings on in her ilaka. Sorry doggie, next time we’ll move away from your space). And many others, including our first player – a little girl of about six years old - - good sports all – Thank you!
Precisely because the idea was so simple – it worked like a charm. People immediately get the idea of the ‘ball’. Most people who joined in, once they moved past the idea of the strangeness of it, got into the (theatre?) game with full belief, allowing themselves to have fun and to be a part of a happy coincidence in their day.Besides those who stayed at the periphery, recording the proceedings on their phones, was a succession of people who took part good-naturedly.There was the Café Coffee Day delivery guy who didn’t miss a beat on his way somewhere with what looked like a jam bottle in one hand – catching the ‘ball’ with his other hand and throwing it back to someone before grinning and going on his way. The gentleman who decided to turn the ‘throw and catch’ game into a cricket match and who subsequently hit a six – lopping the ‘ball’ over the cars onto the other side of the street. Luckily, Sameer had another ‘ball’ in his pocket (heh heh heh… actually, he had a bunchaballs in there) – and so the game continued.
Collective imagination was in play as one girl tried to balance the ‘ball’ on her head … and the rest of us gathered around her, ready to catch it in case it fell. One lovely lady who was busy taking a video of what was going on was in a fix when someone handed her the ‘ball’, suddenly making her a participant rather than an outside viewer. Not to be deterred, she found ways in which to continue selfying herself as now inside the game while simultaneously throwing the ball to someone else! Good job whoever you were! (We know you took this blog address, so maybe you’re reading this right now!)
There was the shop owner who thoroughly enjoyed the surreptitious passing-the-ball-behind-your-back section of the game and joined in with full cloak-and-dagger feel (we were trying to avoid the dog there who not only KNEW, but was – um - upset at the strange goings on in her ilaka. Sorry doggie, next time we’ll move away from your space). And many others, including our first player – a little girl of about six years old - - good sports all – Thank you!
It seems safe to say that some people had a sudden, unexpected, unique and fun experience and left the space a little happier, with a story to tell and a bounce in their step. Small dent in a long day and longer lives – but even the longest stories are made up of smaller moments, so why not one moment of watching an imaginary ball soar up into the sky … ?
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