1 2 3 Pune: On many quiet afternoons 70-year-old Pune resident Rekha Krishan, makes her way to the Poona Club. 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. The growing Mahjong club offers members a sense of belongingness. Believed to have been developed in 19th century China, Mahjong has zoomed up popularity charts over the last couple of months.
“We have a buzzing Mahjong community in the city. I started playing this game seven years ago and have taught over 500 women so far. There are players in the city who play both versions of Indian and American Mahjong,” said, Rekha Krishan.
She along with Sam Nanda and others have organised 50 Mahjong tournaments across cities and even online. Delhi-resident, 63-year-old Vineeta Sahni, learnt this game over 25 years ago and is still passionate about it. “Mahjong was popular among defence services wives.
They used to play when their husbands were away. I and my daughters 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 the card game rummy, but it uses a set of 144 tiles based on Chi.