1. “UTSAAH”
LEISURE TIME
Recreation
and
Leisure in
Life
Project by : Hari Dev S. Aiyar, III-D, R.No.11,
Seth Anandram Jaipuria School, Vasundhara, Ghaziabad
UTSAAH – Recreation & Leisure Time

2. UTSAAH – Recreation & Leisure Time

3. UTSAAH – Recreation & Leisure Time

4. Leisure & Recreation in
Ancient Period

5. ►Relatively little is known about the nature
of leisure and play in the early periods.
Pre-historic People during the Paleolithic
and Neolithic epochs were less aware of
leisure and recreation as per historic
exploration.
►Archaeologists uncovered artifacts
provide some first-hand evidence of
creative, athletic and recreation
activities of primitive people from around
the world.
►Ancient Egyptians led a colorful and
pleasant life. Music, drama and dance
were forms of religious worship as well as
social entertainment.
►Assyrians and Babylonians had many
popular recreation activities such as
boxing, wrestling, archery, hunting etc.
Assyrian king on a chariot
during a royal lion hunt
Persian brick immortal –
Archery
UTSAAH – Recreation & Leisure Time – ANCIENT PERIOD

6. ► Greek philosophy of Athenians believed
strongly in the unity of mind and body of all
forms of human qualities and skills.
► The transitional developments in Greek
approach introduced participative sports and
games – thus Olympic games began..!
► Ancient Romans actively participated in sports
and gymnastic activities.
► Roman Children had toy carts, houses, dolls
and tops. As the saying goes “Rome is not
built in a day”, Romans were systematic
planners and builders which eventually led to
provisions of baths, open-air theatres,
amphitheaters, stadiums and some times
parks and gardens.
► Ancient Iranians attached great importance to
music and poetry.
UTSAAH – Recreation & Leisure Time – ANCIENT PERIOD

8. ►The famous ‘Colosseum’ is the greatest
architectural achievement of antiquity
which promoted the concept of leisure
and recreation.
►During the era of the Rig - Veda,
Ramayana and Mahabharata, men of a
certain stature were expected to be well -
versed in chariot - racing, archery,
military stratagems, swimming,
wrestling and hunting.
►People of Indus Valley Civilisation, one of
the world's earliest urban civilizations,
along with its contemporaries,
Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt also
participated in various forms of leisure
and recreation.
The "dancing girl of Mohenjo Daro"
UTSAAH – Recreation & Leisure Time – ANCIENT PERIOD

9. Leisure & Recreation in
Medieval Period

10. ► The Middle Ages or the Medieval Period is the period of world history
encompassing the 5th to the 15th centuries, normally marked from the
collapse of the Western Roman Empire until the beginning of the
Renaissance and the Age of Discovery, the periods which ushered in the
Modern Era.
► The mediaeval period thus is the mid-time of the traditional division of
Western history into Classical, Medieval, and Modern periods.
► Later in the Middle Ages when things started to stablize there was more time
for hobbies and pastimes. They didn't have the diversity of pastimes that we
have now. They still had to spend a significant amount of their time on the
basic but they did have some free time, particularly nobility.
UTSAAH – Recreation & Leisure Time – MEDIEVAL PERIOD
John, Duke of Berry enjoying a
grand meal. ca 1410.
King Conradin Hawking. (1252-
1268) enjoying a horse ride

11. ►People in Medieval times not only worked and fought hard, but they
played hard as well. They liked to relax, unwind and take break from
pressures of daily life.
►Several ways of entertainment and recreation during Medieval
period are :
 Hunting
 Tournaments
 Hawking - The taking of pigeons, herons, waterfowl, rabbits and
other small game by hawks
 Feasting
 Drinking
 Gambling (with dice)
 Backgammon
 Chess
 Story Telling
 Dancing
William the Conqueror shown
on the Bayeux Tapestry
UTSAAH – Recreation & Leisure Time – MEDIEVAL PERIOD

12. UTSAAH – Recreation & Leisure Time – MEDIEVAL PERIOD
► People of Medieval Towns and villages did enjoy a variety of sports
and many of them are a precursor to sports we still enjoy today.
Some of them are :
 A form of soccer was played by kicking a large ball
 Wrestling
 Pitching Quoits - This is an early version of horseshoes where
players would pitch a metal or rubber ring over a pin in the center
of a patch of clay
 An early form of Bowling also was practiced
 Archery
 Fighting with Cudgels ( a kind of club) or quarterstaffs
 A form of Ice Skating where youth would strap the shinbones of
cows to their feet and skate on frozen ponds and lakes
 A primitive form of badminton with a ball and paddles

13. UTSAAH – Recreation & Leisure Time – MEDIEVAL PERIOD
► Feasts, Festivals and Holidays
 Feasts, festivals, holidays, and saints days were an important part of
the pastimes of people during the middle ages.
 Many of these special days were accompanied by special rites,
songs, dance and plenty of food and drink.
 Some of these festivals were religious such as Easter when they
would celebrate the appearance of the green man who was dressed
in green branches and would dance through the streets.
 May was a very important time because it was the beginning of
spring and it was often celebrated with something called The Morris
dance and Dancing around the Maypole.
 Going to Church was also a pastime and a form of recreation. For
poor peasants it was possibly the only place where they were
exposed to the wonders of architecture and art. They could look at
and enjoy the icons and paintings, sculpture and stained glass
windows.

14. ► In Indian History, the Medieval India refers to the Middle Ages i.e. 8th
to 18th century CE in the Indian subcontinent consisting of the following
empires:
 Hoysala Empire
 Kakatiya Kingdom
 Delhi Sultanate
 Ahom Kingdom
 Reddy Kingdom
 Vijayanagara Empire
 Gajapati Kingdom
 Deccan Sultanates
► People during this period used various forms of recreation including
archery, traditional and local games/sports, martial arts etc. The rulers also
encouraged literature and architecture.
UTSAAH – Recreation & Leisure Time – MEDIEVAL PERIOD

15. Leisure & Recreation in
Modern Period

16. UTSAAH – Recreation & Leisure Time
►The period from late 15th
Century till 1850 is reckoned as Modern Period
which has seen enormous development in the social life of people.
►With the advent of many scientific way of living and more emphasis on
cultural and social endeavours, various forms of recreational and
leisurely activities were followed during this period.
►The impact of the Industrial Revolution and Urbansiation in the 1900s
redefined the concept of leisure and reccreation.
►Some of the forms of recreation and leisurely activities are :

17. UTSAAH – Recreation & Leisure Time

18. UTSAAH – Recreation & Leisure Time

19. Leisure & Recreation in
Post-Independence Period

20. UTSAAH – Recreation & Leisure Time

21. UTSAAH – Recreation & Leisure Time

22. UTSAAH – Recreation & Leisure Time