The Brain Game

Any game that requires four hours without any physical exercise or calories’ burnt seems to me,a complete waste of time. But at a party recently,I was surrounded by four 30-something women animatedly discussing their game to be held the next day at their Bridge teacher’s house in Friends Colony. The teacher,a 60-something lady,has been playing for over 20 years at the Delhi Gymkhana Club. She charges Rs 300 per session with tea and biscuits on the house for the four hours that the 12 students spend there every Sunday. One of them,an art dealer,told me she’s on her 25th lesson and is completely addicted. Worried that she was too scatterbrained and forgetful,she took up Bridge after a friend told her it would improve her memory. Now they have a serious Bridge gang that meets for dinner once a month and they try and play at least twice a week,work permitting.

“Contrary to popular belief it’s not just a game for the idle rich,” says Vivan Khubchand,42,who quit his job with Religare in wealth management in January this year,to become a full time Bridge teacher. Khubchand grew up watching his grandparents play. At 28 he started playing regularly,and slowly got hooked. He improved his game by playing with better opponents,entered some tournaments and won. Amateur players would seek his advise. Khubchand felt there were enough people interested in the game in Delhi for him to be able to make a career out of his passion. He started with three students in January that have grown to 40 today. His students are mostly between the ages of 30 to 45,with more women than men. He’s received offers to become a coach on European Cruise Lines which he’s declined,but he plans to spend summers in London where the world’s best players congregate every summer.

Khubchand valiantly tries to explain the game to me: what I get is that Bridge is a far more sophisticated version of Court Piece and my old favourite,Teen Doh Paanch . It’s a cerebral game of strategy and tactics with over 750 trillion combinations,so you’ll always be dealt a new hand. Apparently,Warren Buffett and Bill Gates play over 12 hours a week. One would imagine that a hobby loved by two of America’s richest idols would be a rage among ambitious youth but Bridge has been fading in the US and Buffett has been funding some American institutions to teach it to school children. Khubchand says there are a lot of life’s lessons to be learnt from Bridge: you make decisions based on facts (cards dealt),but you have to be willing to explore an entirely new course,based on inferences. Most importantly,you have to be in sync with your partner,no matter how lousy a player.

As a final sell for Bridge,Khubchand says you can even play it on your deathbed. He recalls a prominent Delhi industrialist,an excellent player,who would go for dialysis twice a week,but never missed his daily game. Says Khubchand: “I played with him the day he died and he told me this game kept him alive.”

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