Madhya Pradesh

• 13 Sep 2024

MP Revives Pittu: Street Sport

Why in News?

Recently, the Madhya Pradesh government has added Pittu to the sports calendar of all Madhya Pradesh colleges for the academic year 2024-25.

Key Points

• Aim: To revive Pittu, a traditional Indian game, believed to have been played by Lord Krishna as mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana.
• Game Structure and Rules:
  • Pittu is played on a 26m x 14m field with two teams of six players each (four substitutes allowed per team).
  • The game consists of two halves, each lasting 10 minutes.
  • The striker team knocks over a stack of seven coloured tiles (Pittu) and must reassemble it, while the defending team tries to prevent this.
• Significance:
  • Pittu is believed to have originated in the southern Indian subcontinent.
  • Revival of Pittu is part of the MP government’s effort to teach students about Lord Krishna’s life and connect them with Madhya Pradesh's heritage.
  • The game gained renewed attention after the Prime Minister mentioned it in his Mann ki Baat speech in January 2021.
  • Pittu was demonstrated during the National Games and even had a Lagori World Cup in 2015-16.