Rasthe Hubba 2026: Reviving Nostalgia with Traditional Games in Bengaluru

Reviving Timeless Fun at Rasthe Hubba: Our Street Festival Adventure

Over two weekends (17th, 18th, 24th, and 25th January), we had the privilege of participating in Rasthe Hubba, a neighborhood street-festival experience under BLR Hubba.

We were present across 7 Bengaluru locations:

• Richard's Town, Malleshwaram, Basavanagudi, Panduranganagar, Mahadevapura, Sanjay Nagar, and Banaswadi.

What we witnessed

The response was overwhelming in most places.

Many visitors stopped out of curiosity and then stayed longer to explore, ask questions, and play. Kids found the games colorful and playful. Several people told us that the design and packaging were “amazing” and “well thought out,” and more than one person said this is “the need of the hour”.

The most heartening part was seeing families buy not just for themselves but return with neighbors and friends, encouraging them to pick up other games so they could share and play together as families.

The strongest emotion

Unsurprisingly, the most evoked emotion was nostalgia.

Many elders remembered playing these games in their childhood and youth. They were happy because the games felt familiar and joyful again, and also a little sad because they felt today’s children have very little time between school, coaching, sports, and mobile screens.

We suggested a simple alternative that sparked warm acknowledgement: neighborhood elders could form small circles and play together again. In many ways, this felt like more than a purchase decision. It felt like a nudge towards human connection.

The biggest barrier we faced

A recurring theme was, “We want to buy, but will we be able to learn how to play?”

We had anticipated this, and we were prepared to help.

Across these 7 locations over 4 days, we explained and taught these games to nearly 1100 individuals. Watching people say “Now I understand” and “This is easy” was our biggest takeaway.

True to our slogan

Easy to Learn, Loads of Fun.

It felt like we had set a huge dice rolling, and the streets were carrying it forward.

Note on logistics and organisation

Except for one or two locations, the events were extremely well managed by the individual RWAs and organizing committees.

Rasthe Hubba was pitched as a low-waste/zero-waste event, and it truly lived up to the promise. The streets were clean, with not even a speck of paper.

Special appreciation to Adamya Chetana Plate Bank and Hasiru Dala for making sustainability practical at scale. With thousands of visitors, their teams helped ensure plates and tumblers were cleaned efficiently, and the area was kept impressively clean throughout.

We are grateful to everyone who stopped by, played, learned, shared stories, and took these games home.

Traditional games are timeless.
Sometimes, all they need is a nudge.

Tanushri SN

Shashishekhar S