“Where shall I play?
Where shall I jump?
….
When I play, my daddy is irritated.
When I jump, I am told to sit down
….
Tell me, where shall I go, what shall I do?”
The predicament of a child in this verse by Gijubhai Badheka from his masterpiece Divaswapna (1933) is nearly a century old. It holds true today. As the world rallies to create a better future, now is the moment to ask why the most natural thing a child can do has become something that they must fight for.
Play is shrinking from the lives of children across India and the world. Global consultations with more than 10,000 children found that only 27 per cent of children play outside their homes today, against 71 per cent of their parents and grandparents (The Power of Play). For children of labourers and other disadvantaged sections, safe spaces to play barely exist.
Children are born to play
We know that 85 per cent of brain development happens before the age of six. It is not driven by the three Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic) but by playing. Neuroscientist Dr Jaak Panksepp showed that even a brief window of free play alters gene expression in the developing brain. It builds the social and emotional architecture that no classroom can replicate.
Educationist Tarabai Modak, to whom we owe our earliest concept of anganwadi, understood that learning is most powerful when adapted to the rhythms of a child’s life. In the 1940s, while working with tribal communities in Maharashtra, she observed that children were learning as they went about their day—tracking animals, climbing trees, and playing with seeds and stones. She extended this to her school. While clearing the school compound of overgrown grass, children gathered to watch, and when offered child-sized sickles, they joined in. This sowed the seeds of ‘meadow schools’, where learning happened in an open, free and playful environment.
During 2024–26, Voices of Play, a survey, brought together more than 4,000 children from across India and asked: “What does play mean to you?” Their responses were simple but profound.
“When I play, I feel free like a bird,” said 10-year-old Kripa. “Even if I am sad (when I come to the playground), I leave happy.”
“It gives time to children to be free, for them to do what they want. It’s like the playground knows how to help,” said seven-year-old Mily.
“This is the only place where I feel like I can be me and not worry about stuff,” expressed six-year-old Barsha.
When asked what they did not like, children spoke of the barriers they faced.
“Don’t have time to play,” said 11-year-old Vivesha.
“Neighbours scold us when we go out to play. I’m told I’m a big girl, and I must not play. That hurts.”
Children are born to explore and discover meaning through play. Adults do not need to teach them how. They need to stop interrupting it.
What we have seen
When children are introduced to free play, they do not need a structure; they simply need to be with other children in a safe environment. At the heart of a thriving child is adequate nutrition, nurturing care and play-based learning that supports social and emotional development.
For children living amidst displacement, migration, instability or chronic stress, play is not escapism. Research shows it is one of the ways children process fears, build emotional safety, regain agency and make sense of the world. Denying it causes harm. If play is a right, it cannot be contingent on a PIN code.
Policy exists; practice doesn't
India’s policy already recognises play. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 places play-based learning at the heart of the foundational years. The challenge lies in implementation.
Many early educators themselves experienced conventional schooling and are now expected to let go of control, give children choice and agency, and, above all, give themselves permission to play. This requires re-experiencing play and understanding its possibilities. It also requires systems to accommodate playful learning that may not yield immediate, measurable outcomes.
Tarabai Modak believed that educators must “observe before instruction”. Watching children at play helps teachers understand what and how to teach. Sarkar and Bazaar can make available free or low-cost tools that help educators and caregivers observe children while also tracking their own progress in supporting children's development.
A societal responsibility
As we move towards a Viksit Bharat, it is time for samaj (civil society), sarkar (government) and bazaar (market) to rally around a simple truth: play is not a luxury. It is the infrastructure children need to grow and thrive.
It is not, “Padhoge likhoge banoge nawab/Jo tum kheloge koodoge to hoge kharab.”
It is, “Padhoge likhoge banoge nawab/Jo tum kheloge koodoge hoge lajawab.”
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publication. |
