Diwali fever catches up with gamblers in Ludhiana

Nitin Jain

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 3

With the festival of lights less than 24 hours away, gamblers and persons for whom it is just a hobby, have started looking for avenues to try their luck at cards and other games.

Men in ‘khakhi’ catching up with the ‘money-players’ and spoiling the fun notwithstanding, the Diwali fever has caught up with the gamblers in the industrial capital of the state.

Playing cards on the festival of lights is as old as Diwali itself. Not to be left behind, women also take keen interest in the game of cards. ‘Trails’, ‘sequences’, ‘colours’ and ‘pairs’ – all formations of the popular ‘teen patti’ or ‘flash’ – are the topics around which the talk at the sittings of card-players revolves around. These make all the difference between winning and losing but for the uninitiated, this may be ‘mumbo-jumbo’.

In fact, packs of cards had come out with the beginning of ‘navratras’ (nine auspicious days for offering prayers to Goddess Durga). While ‘lucky’ seats and ‘lucky’ companions are sought with zeal, the zodiac signs are avidly read for ‘positive’ forecasts.

Though there is a slump in the business despite Covid taking a break, this has failed to dampen the spirit among the rich, middle class and even poor players. What varies is only the ‘stakes’.

While ‘rummy’ is allowed on the basis of ‘counters’, which are used instead of the tables on which no cash is placed, gamblers in this “happening” city are not behind their counterparts in ‘flash’.

At one go and all in hard cash, the stakes are learnt to go up to thousands, and even lakhs, at several private parties attended by the ‘players’ belonging to the upper strata. Not only the ways are found to escape the ‘prying’ eyes of the ‘taxmen’ at such ‘high-ranking’ parties, the entry is totally restricted and only reliable persons are invited.

With the onset of the festive season, restaurants, hotels and clubs located in Ludhiana have also started doing brisk business. At times, groups of players are so big that some members could be seen waiting for hours together for their ‘turn’.

Playing cards ‘deftly’ with their ‘manicured’ hands, women do not lag behind men in this game. Either it is an ‘all-woman’ group or male members from their relations also join in the game played by the ‘well-heeled’ females, said a regular ‘player’ Anju.

Women not behind

Playing cards ‘deftly’ with their ‘manicured’ hands, women do not lag behind men in this game. Either it is an ‘all-woman’ group or male members from their relations also join in the game played by the ‘well-heeled’ females, said a regular ‘player’ Anju.

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