[joemanjo]

From Jan 6th 2011 to Jan 9th 2011, some of us partcipated in a high prize money (Rs 11 lakhs or about $25,000 total prize money) tournament at Indore, the capital of erstwhile Holkar Kingdom. The tournament itself was named after one of the most famous rulers of this dynasty and sponsored by the Kalani Industries.

It was a cold and misty Sunday morning on the 9th. It would have passed by as another prize money tournament and gathering of Bridge friends, that day being the last day of the tournament. 23 out of about 130 pairs who participated would play the IMP Pairs finals. There was a side event for the non-qualifiers.

As we walked into the venue, we were all surprised to see a few gentlemen in rustic village dresses. All of them were from this village about 200 Km from Indore city. These were 8 pairs of never before seen players who appeared on this Sunday morning. On enquiry, we found that they had come from a village called Raibeedpura belonging to the Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh (part of the old Indore kingdom). Most of them were local farm owners or farm labourers. They must have got up at an unearthly hour of about 3:00 am, caught a bus to the district headquarters at Khargone (about 20 Km from the village) and then another bus to Indore to reach the tournament venue at 9:30 am.

Here is the story as was told to me by one Mr Ramesh Mukati, aged 40 years. Bridge was played even before his birth in this village. Many people who are 30 years or more and have primary school education (all Men folk only) play Bridge here. They have an old building which is empty where the serious ones get together and play. Those who are not able to get there play informally at multiple "chowpats" (literal translation - where four roads meet) as casual games.

Origin of Bridge at this village is shrouded by passage of time. Most old timers remember Bridge being always played there. It is known that Bridge was taught by a teacher (called Khan "Saab" - a school Master named Khan) at the local school. He is now no more, so we do not know from whence he came or how he got to know the game. Some more details were revealed on conversation. They play a strong club system with weak NT and two level natural minor openings. None of the modern advances in the game is even known there. Bidding system as taught by the mystic Khan Saab is preserved pristinely maybe with some local advancements. I do not think they have a system document, they probably follow the age-old and time tested method in India - by word of mouth - from one generation to another.

They admitted that all play for enjoyment and passing time. They had no clue on the scoring systems we used, or even the right way to score a hand in Contract Bridge. What a contrast, this years Indore tourament was the first time ever in India when all the boards were computer dealt and multiplicated, and scoring was done by Bridgemates at all tables with VU Graph for the team KOs. None of the villagers have ever played a tournament before, they didnt know that we existed!!!

By now I am sure you must be curious to know just how good they play. The best performers at Indore were one Mr Mulchand Jawra and Mr Kemal Verma who, after being -7 IMPs at the end of first session (they were sheepish when they admitted that they were slighlty overawed in the first ever tournament they played), pickedup +43 IMPs in the second session to finish with a tally of +36 and a respectable 21st out of 79 pairs who participated.

I do not know who was responsible for getting them to participate in the first place, whoever it was, the entire bridge community should be thankful to him or her. I was told that there are about 300 to 400 people who know the game and about 200 regular players in this village of about 5000 people.

Unfortunately, there is no internet facility with computer at the village, so e-mail communication is not possible. The only way that Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh (state) Bridge associations can keep them updated is by way of normal post. Most people have mobile phones, I suppose that is the way to go for disseminating information.

There is a saying that "India lives in its villages". Certainly, for Bridge as a game to live beyond this new century in India, it should live and floursh in villages such as Raibeedpura. I suppose, it is a little sad, but that can also be true for many other parts of the world.

As an after thought, as a pure comparitive exercise, it would be interesting to look at the demographics of this village vis a vis a few neighbouring non-bridge playing villages. Afterall Bridge play is supposed to have many indirect benefits in all areas of life.

Reported by
Manoj Kumar K (joemanjo on BBO)
Bangalore India

[Phil]

Great post Joe. Really enjoyed reading this.

Reminds me a little of the "Sidd Finch" story: SI

[mtvesuvius]

Very interesting stuff, thanks for sharing.

[Fluffy]

Hey Manoj, care if I translate this to spannish for a couple of publications?

[joemanjo]

Fluffy, on 2011-January-12, 12:59, said:

Hey Manoj, care if I translate this to spannish for a couple of publications?

Gonzalo, Muchos Gracias. Please do as you propose.

[joemanjo]

Phil, on 2011-January-12, 12:09, said:

Great post Joe. Really enjoyed reading this.

Reminds me a little of the "Sidd Finch" story: SI

Phil, In a departure from the article you pointed me to, the date of my report does not coincide with that one day of the year. In any case, thank you, that one made a good read too, until I spotted the date sometime when I turned to the third page.


Manoj.

[rai1955]

really surprised Iam quite far of that village But if I can theier Tel phone NO I would Certainly Like to contact them Even visit them pl give me their conact no & other deails thanx

Dr Anupam Rai
Jabalpur M.P. rai1955@yahoo.co.in

[Lurpoa]

What a nice story.....
Can we get a television crew to that village ?

[Hanoi5]

I also think that this was a great story, thanks for sharing.

[joemanjo]

Lurpoa, on 2011-January-13, 03:40, said:

What a nice story.....
Can we get a television crew to that village ?

Was done by an Indian channel NDTV 24*7. So certainly possible. Where would your crew be coming from?

[sona78]

Very interesting, Thanks for the post Manoj. I visit Indore often. I would like the contanct info.
Sonab421@yahoo.com

[gwnn]

strong club, weak NT and natural 2m openers, sounds like a great system if you ask me

[mohitz]

gwnn, on 2011-January-14, 04:53, said:

strong club, weak NT and natural 2m openers, sounds like a great system if you ask me

yea, indians are smart!

[rakky]

Very interesting.......... who knows, the game of Bridge may have been originated from some village like this in India.Kudos to Manoj for bringing these people in Limelight.

[joemanjo]

rakky, on 2011-January-15, 23:39, said:

Very interesting.......... who knows, the game of Bridge may have been originated from some village like this in India.Kudos to Manoj for bringing these people in Limelight.

NB: I corrected Arvind's BBO Id below.

The people involved were Arvind Vaidya (arvindv22 figo), Rajesh Tibrewala (r_tibre) and Jitesh Agarwal (chief organiser of Indore tournament). It was the formers persistance that led to the villagers landing up at the tournament site and also getting the whole thing reported on NDTV (a leading Indian TV News Channel). I and many who played the tournament, did not see the program, work is afoot to get the video report so that it can be uploaded in a Bridge site.

Manoj.

[zasanya]

joemanjo, on 2011-January-18, 13:26, said:

The people involved were Arvind Vaidya (arvindv22), Rajesh Tibrewala (r_tibre) and Jitesh Agarwal (chief organiser of Indore tournament). It was the formers persistance that led to the villagers landing up at the tournament site and also getting the whole thing reported on NDTV (a leading Indian TV News Channel). I and many who played the tournament, did not see the program, work is afoot to get the video report so that it can be uploaded in a Bridge site.

Manoj.

Aravind has given this link