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Ball Badminton is a poor man's hybrid between tennis and shuttle badminton...and it had all the ingredients of the robust fun of our village crowd. For instance the court can accommodate TEN players at a time in its funniest version:
http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/03/11/stories/2004031100640400.htm
The ball is like tennis ball in shape but smaller in size. The racket is light like that of the shuttle badminton but much cheaper. The net is at a height slightly above that of the shuttle badminton. The court is as big, if not a wee bigger than, a tennis court. In that vast court one can play singles (1/4), doubles (1/2) and fives (full court as in the picture above).
When hit by the racket, the ball flies off fast like a tennis ball...provided the 'tension' in the strings of the racket is good. The racket used to be made of mulberry wood (now extinct). We are talking of the pre-plastic era and the strings of the racket used to be made of cat-gut...at least that is what we were told. Since the ball is much heavier than the shuttlecock, the gutting of the bat used to first get loose and then snap here and there. And the bat had to be 're-gutted'. But we didn't mind one or two snapped strings but carried on till there were holes big enough for the ball to tunnel through.
There were some funny rules though. If the ball was going 'out' of court but you misjudged it and attempted it and missed it, you lose the point...this is a case where the HNB's maxim 'even attempt is golden' back-kicks. Then again, if the ball 'grazes' the net and succeeds in clearing it and landing on the other side, you lose the point unlike in tennis or shuttle badminton. These two weird rules were fuzzy enough to create such a ruckus that chaps used to come to blows...to say nothing of 'on the line' balls.
We started as 'pickers' (ball boys). And two of us were stationed on either end of the court with a 'loose' bat. Since there were no 'nets' nor 'screen' nor even a bamboo fence behind the court, we got lots of practice trying to hit back every ball that overshot the court....that was our 'blooding' into the game.
Since there was no electricity and no 'floodlights', it was a daylight open-air game but our classes were let off by 4 PM everyday and Muthukur had daylight till at least 6.30 PM. And that was good enough for us pickers to gain entry as 'substitutes' for tired souls.
The five players on each side were divided into two 'fronts' (short novices), two 'backs' (tall seniors); and a 'Center' (the Pro), a prize position since he was allowed to shout, "Mine", and try to hit every ball that he thinks he could 'cover'...he had precedence in the protocol.
For the record, I started as a 'picker', then graduated to a 'front', then a 'back' and finally the 'Center' (Captain) over the six years I was at school (although I was the shortest). In my 6th form (S.S.L.C.) I captained my team in the Grigg's Memorial Inter-School Competitions and reached Finals. I see that this tournament is extinct now...I can't find it in Google.
More about our Grigg's adventure tomorrow.
Meanwhile here is a video of the Fives:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFksJ7sLPn0
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Ball Badminton is a poor man's hybrid between tennis and shuttle badminton...and it had all the ingredients of the robust fun of our village crowd. For instance the court can accommodate TEN players at a time in its funniest version:
http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/03/11/stories/2004031100640400.htm
The ball is like tennis ball in shape but smaller in size. The racket is light like that of the shuttle badminton but much cheaper. The net is at a height slightly above that of the shuttle badminton. The court is as big, if not a wee bigger than, a tennis court. In that vast court one can play singles (1/4), doubles (1/2) and fives (full court as in the picture above).
When hit by the racket, the ball flies off fast like a tennis ball...provided the 'tension' in the strings of the racket is good. The racket used to be made of mulberry wood (now extinct). We are talking of the pre-plastic era and the strings of the racket used to be made of cat-gut...at least that is what we were told. Since the ball is much heavier than the shuttlecock, the gutting of the bat used to first get loose and then snap here and there. And the bat had to be 're-gutted'. But we didn't mind one or two snapped strings but carried on till there were holes big enough for the ball to tunnel through.
There were some funny rules though. If the ball was going 'out' of court but you misjudged it and attempted it and missed it, you lose the point...this is a case where the HNB's maxim 'even attempt is golden' back-kicks. Then again, if the ball 'grazes' the net and succeeds in clearing it and landing on the other side, you lose the point unlike in tennis or shuttle badminton. These two weird rules were fuzzy enough to create such a ruckus that chaps used to come to blows...to say nothing of 'on the line' balls.
We started as 'pickers' (ball boys). And two of us were stationed on either end of the court with a 'loose' bat. Since there were no 'nets' nor 'screen' nor even a bamboo fence behind the court, we got lots of practice trying to hit back every ball that overshot the court....that was our 'blooding' into the game.
Since there was no electricity and no 'floodlights', it was a daylight open-air game but our classes were let off by 4 PM everyday and Muthukur had daylight till at least 6.30 PM. And that was good enough for us pickers to gain entry as 'substitutes' for tired souls.
The five players on each side were divided into two 'fronts' (short novices), two 'backs' (tall seniors); and a 'Center' (the Pro), a prize position since he was allowed to shout, "Mine", and try to hit every ball that he thinks he could 'cover'...he had precedence in the protocol.
For the record, I started as a 'picker', then graduated to a 'front', then a 'back' and finally the 'Center' (Captain) over the six years I was at school (although I was the shortest). In my 6th form (S.S.L.C.) I captained my team in the Grigg's Memorial Inter-School Competitions and reached Finals. I see that this tournament is extinct now...I can't find it in Google.
More about our Grigg's adventure tomorrow.
Meanwhile here is a video of the Fives:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFksJ7sLPn0
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