LIGHT PLAY



Cheap and clean entertainment


















PAPER BALLS

The paper balls were my cheap entertainment and used to be my primary school days recess game.  They filled many hours of playing - anywhere, anytime and anybody. Made from rice paper and colourfully painted, they became one of my well-loved cheap thrill games. I have kept them for nostalgic reasons. Costing only 5 cents each back then, they gave my siblings, cousins and schoolmates long hours of challenging fun.  

What we had to do was to keep the China-made light paper ball stay in the air for the longest period of time. We had to anticipate how hard to hit the ball up into the air and prempt where it would land and hit it back before it landed on the floor. Your turn to hit would stop once the ball lands on the floor because of your poor estimation at hitting the ball back to the air. 

Dexterity of the fingers and hand together with good eye and hand co-ordination are two vital things you require for playing this ball game.  The techniques and motor coordination are similar to playing the playstation. Dexterity and co-ordination must be fast. The PSP,  i-Pad and Smartphone were unheard of. No tech savvy devices to occupy our time. But we gained in other areas playing such less sophisticated mechanism. 

Instead of just staring at the screen and straining our eyes while severing our links to the outside world, we developed our individuality more. We had plenty of time honing on the social and inter-personal skills which resulted in loads of laughter, a wholesome nature  and appreciation for the simplicity in life.