How a centuries-old children’s game preserved the hidden trauma of Sati

By understanding the why and how of this game, we aren’t destroying the play; we are giving it a different, deeper meaning.

The sound of children chanting reached me before I could see them—a rhythmic, sing-song drift from beyond the schoolyard fence. I stopped. Memories pulled me back to a time when we played the very same game, a game I hadn’t thought of in decades. Moving closer, I saw a teacher sitting on the ground with a dozen toddlers gathered in a semicircle. Their small hands were pressed palm-down against the earth, waiting, their faces split with wide smiles. I stood still, watching so as not to disturb them.