Hide n' Seek

If you’ve grown up in India, you’d probably remember playing the Indian variant of the game ‘Hide n seek’ called ‘I Spy’ which was commonly referred as to ‘Ice Spice’. In this form of hide n' seek, as the seeker tries to find the hiding players, he also runs the risk of being caught off guard by a player who comes out of the hiding thereby making the seeker ‘out’ ( or ‘it’) again. Now as my son is old enough to play this game, it feels like my memory playing hide n seek with me over those days that now seem like a different era. Those were the days when the evening power cuts came as a blessing in disguise to kids of the neighborhood creating a perfect setting for a game ‘Ice Spice’!

I wonder how time flies as now I watch my son trying a hand at this age old game. But Abhay’s variant of the game, though initially amusing now seems plain stupid! Would you believe it when I tell you that each time he chooses the same hiding place? All my earnest attempts to get him to play right ends in vain when I find him hiding in the bathtub for the umpteenth time! I mean…seriously…how difficult is this for him to figure out? However, today I felt consoled to find that Abhay was not alone in his idea of creating a boring version of an interesting game. On a play-date at his friend’s place, both the boys were seen hiding in their respective favorite spots again and again and were not tired of seeking each other out in the same place every time. Ultimately, it was the moms who grew tired of this ‘one of a kind ‘ game!:-)

So today, after being on the waiting list for more than two months, I could finally lay my hands on "Hide” by Jeff Foxworthy and illustrated by Steve Bjorkman, a book that vividly depicts the actual version of Hide n Seek. One Saturday morning, the children cannot wait for the rain to let up and when it does, they rush outdoors for a game of Hide and seek. This book follows the seeker as she goes on a search to find the hiding players while you read out the clues for your little one to go on a “look and find’ adventure himself. As I was reading this book, I hoped that Abhay emulates the ingenious methods of camouflage shown in the book. So I’ll at least consider having made my point when the next time we play hide n’ seek, Abhay chooses the closet instead of the bathtub!