Pallankuzhi

Many of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers may not have been educated formally but they were mathematical geniuses for whom mental math came naturally. Much of the credit goes to the ancient game of Pallankuzhi (known as Mancala in hindi and Alagulimane in Kannada). 

The origins of the game are said to go back to the Chola dynasty in Tamil Nadu and in one instance, a researcher has talked about the game being referred in a Pallava copper plate dating back to 550 AD.

The game is played between 2 players on a rectangular board with 2 rows and 7 columns of holes. There are a total of 14 holes (Kuzhi in tamil). In the beginning, each hole has 6 shells, stones or seeds. Each row belongs to a player. The first player picks up the shells from one of the holes and starts distributing them in a clockwise manner one at a time in each hole. Each player is allowed to pickup shells from his/her row and distribute across the holes with the objective of getting shells from the next hole once an empty hole is reached. The winner is the person with the most shells when all the holes are empty or nearly empty.

The game focuses on mental math, strategy and focus. It has been seen to enhance memory, observations skills and motor skills in children. Efforts are being made to bring this largely forgotten game back to mainstream life so that children and old people can stay sharp.