The second street game I vividly remember is Gohti. This is played with marbles. We used to break old soda - water bottles which had marbles in their necks. We could also buy beautiful multi-colored marbles from shops. I saw my eldest brother being beaten by Father, for spending too much of his time playing this game. So it was 'forbidden fruit' for me. But as I watched others, I longed to join in. Each player had to have a marble. On even ground, a little hole was then dug with the heel of the foot. Everyone took position about two yards away from the hole. Then they knelt and tried to send the marble into the hole. The marble was held tautly to the forefinger of the left hand. The finger was stretched back like a bow - string by the pressure of the forefinger of the left hand. The finger was stretched back like a bow-string by the pressure of the forefinger of the right hand

When the finger was released the marble shot forward, often overshooting the hole. And one had to strike out of the way the marble thrown by the other boys. Or, with a gentle blow from one's marble, push the other marble, so that it drifted into the hole.' Ah I did it!' was the excited cry as one's marble succeeded in striking the other fellow's marble out of the way.

He would then wait his turn to strike the other boy's marble. Whoever got all the marbles into the hole first was the winner. This took a whole morning - or an afternoon. At the end of the game, there was always the danger of a big bully snatching all the marbles of the smaller boys, unless the bully had won the game, which he usually did.

Gohti required deft fingers. My  hands and fingers were too podgy for me to ever be really good at this game. And, once or twice, when I did win four or five marbles , they were snatched away by Chotta I was too small to defend my marbles and cried to Mother to buy me some more.