Pune: On many quiet afternoons, Megha Bhat (59) makes her way to her childhood friend's home. Four pairs of hands circle the upside-down tiles, picking out a stack for themselves and then looking to see whether they have a matching sequence. Generous amounts of tea, coffee, and snacks appear.
Then, with a roll of dice and the flip of stacked tiles, the game begins. Believed to have been developed in the 19th century China, Mahjong has zoomed up the popularity charts in the last couple of months. "We have a buzzing Mahjong community in the city.
There are dedicated players who enjoy playing the game daily. I have been playing the game for the last 15 years and have also played with players from other cities," said Megha Bhat. Delhi resident, Vineeta Sahni (63), learnt this game over 25 years ago and is still extremely passionate about it.
"Mahjong was popular among defence services wives. They used to play when their husbands were away. My daughters and I learnt this game on the Mahjong set that my mother owned.
The game and rules have evolved over the years," she recalled. Simply put, Mahjong is a game of skill and strategy that's now being played at family get-togethers and social clubs. The game is said to be similar to card game rummy, but it uses a set of 144 tiles based on Chinese characters and symbols.
Mahjong is typically played by four players. The goal is to form a complete hand, usually consisting of four melds (sets of three tiles) and a pair (two matching tiles)..