Why did we stop playing? Somewhere between growing up, sitting for exams, and cheering from the sidelines, most of us quietly swapped the playground for the couch. What used to be instinctive — running, climbing, inventing games with nothing but sticks and stones — has now been replaced by structured routines, fitness apps, and an overwhelming pressure to perform. But what do we really mean when we talk about game, play, and sport? And does it matter that we’ve stopped asking?

In this opening episode of Game Play Sport, hosts Rahul De, Associate Professor, School of Arts and Sciences, Azim Premji University; Kailash Koushik, Assistant Professor, Department of Media Studies, Christ University; and Arvind Bharathi BN, Assistant Professor, School of Arts and Sciences, Azim Premji University, come together to revisit the forgotten joy of playing — without purpose, without pressure, and without prizes.

They start by unpacking the differences between game, play, and sport. Is gully cricket with its ever-changing rules still a game? Is catching a frisbee in the park just play? And when do things start becoming serious — with scoreboards, coaches, and medals involved? 

The conversation moves from childhood nostalgia to adult hang-ups. Why do we associate play only with children? Why do we stop engaging in games as we grow older? And more importantly, what would happen if we didn’t? The episode also looks at India’s complex relationship with sport: we’re a country that passionately cheers from the sidelines but rarely invests in play as a right or a regular habit.

The trio reflects on the growing visibility of sport in policy — with the National Education Policy calling for greater integration of play in schools — and asks what would shift if we actually took that seriously. What if schools didn’t just tolerate play but prioritised it?

This episode isn’t just about sport. It’s about remembering that movement can be joyful, that games don’t always need referees, and that play — unstructured, unjudged, and freely chosen — might just be what we all need more of.

Game Play Sport is a new show from Radio Azim Premji University.
Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, SoundCloud, and other major platforms.
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Credit:  Akshay Ramuhalli, Bruce Lee Mani, Gorveck Thokchom, Kishor Mandal, Kruthika Rao, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Ram Sheshadri, Sananda Dasgupta, Seema Seth, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi, and Velu Shankar.