Playing Monopoly with Trump
AS US President Donald Trump hollered about acquiring Greenland and adding other pieces of land to the American kitty, I was reminded of the childhood game called Trade — better known as Monopoly today.
The board game was very popular and held great fascination for us as children as it enabled us to handle wads of ‘currency notes’, which were denied to kids by the money-minded adult world. At the start of the game, the ‘bank’ issued mock banknotes of different denominations to each player and took us to the make-believe world of buying and selling of cities, properties and other assets. One could land in ‘jail’ too, if the dice turned against you.
Now that Trump has reignited this fantasy — like the good property developer that he is — almost every territory anywhere is meant to be gobbled up. As an early mover, he is a man in a hurry to fill his bag, just like we lesser mortals stuff our ‘basket’ during the final hours of an Amazon Diwali bumper sale.
Monopoly, as I found out, is popular across the world as an ‘economics-themed’ game. Various makers create theme games that cater to various age/interest groups. Players roll the dice to move around the board, buying and trading properties and developing them into whatever improves their value.
The other day, I was playing Monopoly with my seven-year-old granddaughter. She insisted on buying Peppa Pig house, Hogwarts Castle (from the Harry Potter series) and the fairyland of Elsa — children’s hot favourites. But she also wanted to send me to ‘jail’ and become the princess of all she surveyed.
Rather than having children as playmates, it will perhaps be more exciting to invite Trump for a round and buy out Las Vegas, Disney Land, Mar-a-Lago and of course, the flagship Trump Tower in Manhattan. Also, I would like to buy out the oil and gas fields of Texas, besides Redwood National and State Parks, Times Square and Silicon Valley. Also on my wish list will be renaming the Harley Davidson bike as ‘Phut-Phut’ (painted like the erstwhile Chandni Chowk bike taxis) and labelling the burger as a samosa of sorts with a Monopoly-empowered flurry of ‘Executive orders’.
Amid the acquisition binge, after each new addition, I will regularly break into a jig a la Trump at his inaugural ball, to the tune of let’s ‘Make America Desi’ (MAD)!
In fact, the USA ought to be renamed ULDA — United Land of Desi Americans — as these fellows will be big contributors to the much-touted ‘Golden Age’ of America. After all, it’s the land Christopher Columbus called India — or maybe it was Indies.
Let’s roll the dice, let the game begin… buy, baby, buy!