The word ‘Kreeda’ simply means ‘play’ in Sanskrit, and what a befitting name it is for Vinita Siddhartha’s now-iconic venture. Kreeda Games was born in 2002 to research, revive, and retail traditional Indian games. “I get to have fun and it’s driven by passion,” says Siddhartha. “What more can I ask for?”
The idea for Kreeda germinated when she watched her grandmother babysitting for her kids, playing traditional and local board games. “There was an 80-year age gap between them. Yet, I found the kids were never bored. One generation is hard to bridge, two is impossible and three is unimaginable. So, I loved the way in which the games transcended this generation gap!”
After a degree in Journalism and Communication from the University of Texas, Austin, Siddhartha had a decade-long stint running a very successful and sought-after corporate communications firm called Masterpage. She then started writing about these traditional games in the media, which elicited a great response. “My businesses had grown to a point where I was doing more management work than creative writing. It was getting more commercial and lesser fun. I thought I’d take a year off, make these games and then figure out what to do with the rest of my life. That’s how Kreeda started. It was also a way to connect with my grandmother who I am very fond of. I never thought I’d be sitting here 20 years later still doing this!”
When she started Kreeda, Siddhartha made 50 pieces of seven or eight traditional Indian board games. “The idea was for some to get sold and some I would gift. Within two-three weeks we sold out many of the games and we had to very quickly make them again! Now I’m an entrepreneur and manufacturer, but if I’d known what it takes, I don’t think I’d have the courage to do it.”
She remembers sending the games to Odyssey and being asked to produce a ‘DC’. After much bewilderment, she realised that they were referring to a Delivery Challan. Then she was asked about the retailer’s markup, which she was utterly clueless about. “I was very naïve in the business aspects.” While she says her husband has been called upon to look after the “boring parts” of the business, there’s still a lot of work involved and also a lot of challenges.
The games are all environmentally-friendly, researched, and tested before production. Red and yellow are the recurring colours running through each of them. The design aesthetic is reminiscent of regional Indian artisans. Age-old games such as gilli danda, marbles and kattam vilayattu retail alongside Kreeda’s own games such as Memories of Madras and The Battle Of Lanka.
“The main reason people should play these games is that they’re fun. However, there are also subtle benefits such as hand-eye coordination, strategic skills, and motor skills, all of which are learnt from games. Generations of people have grown up on these games. These helped build skills that set the foundation for many other skills. They’re so elemental that anyone can play them with ease and simple enough to pick up. Yet, they do have hidden depths.”
Kreeda is a significant part of her life, but Siddhartha is also involved with several other activities and believes that doing different things is important to keep boredom at bay. She runs an IT company and is also in the social sector. “A few years ago, a customer who bought the games was headhunting for their ‘Heroes’ project. The Richard Gere Foundation worked with HIV in those days. They were looking for someone to manage South India for a few years in south India. I got involved, and I loved working in this sector. It was meaningful and impactful. I worked with international NGOs but also volunteered with a lot of smaller ones. I was doing a fantastic mix of things, which is what makes life so interesting.”
Siddhartha confesses that she gets bored unless she constantly tries to innovate. She can’t just do one thing. But time management is key. “When I was younger, I loved working until late, since I worked undisturbed. Today I find that difficult! And of course, there are days I struggle with managing so many things. All the balls are in the air but you figure it out and get creative about how you manage things.”
There are two mantras she lives by. “One, you have to live with yourself. Don’t do anything because society tells you to do it. However, that doesn’t mean you have to hurt people. Do whatever you want without rubbing it in peoples’ noses. They don’t need to accept it. You’re never going to make everyone happy, but you have to be happy with who you are. Be true to yourself. Universal happiness doesn’t exist. Having said that, remember you live in a society. None of us live in a vacuum. Secondly, there are things you have to do and things you want to do. If you ensure that you balance your life in such a way that you get through everything you have to do, you’ll find time and fun for the things you want to do. For instance, if I want to do a crazy campaign for Kreeda, I’d better be on top of everything else before embarking on a new initiative.”
In her 50s now, Siddhartha is on a roll and shows no signs of slowing down. She’s upbeat about her new book, which just got published by Rupa Publications a few months ago - Let’s Play: Life Lessons from Traditional Indian Games. “This took me back to my first love, which is writing. You know, I’ve never boxed my life into ages. For me, it’s just a number. My father worked till he was 89 years old. He had a stroke, otherwise, he’d have continued for longer! As long as you can do something, you must continue to do it.”