Musings on "Tambola"

Dear All

Today we celebrated madhoo's birthday belatedly coinciding with her Half yearly vacation. With around 3 dozen people at home - her friends and their mothers included - we played Tambola after dinner....!!

It never struck me so deeply - though we had played it during one of her earlier birthday occassions too - that this simple game had so much profound truths about life.....and here I am sitting to pen my thoughts on what I was thinking during the game - while it was cheerfully played by all of us.....!!

Well, there could be lot of other games - indoor as well as outdoor to make ourselves feel easy but the special charecteristic about Tambola is that it can be played at ease with large group of people without need of any specialised trainings.

Well the game is dominantly about luck but needs some alertness and sportive attitude as well.... True to our lives, I could observe that some chances were getting lost for few who were not listening to the voice of the facilitator while calling out the numbers in their hand....without realizing that this number will never be repeated again during the game.

For every number called out, there were few - a random few - yelling happily while lot others were sitting still longing for their chance to shout back revengefully. And it always happens that during the course of the game, every one definitely has the possibility to shout out of joy. There seems to be an eternal law governing the game where very few who were so unfortunate that they were rarely getting their numbers....balancing few others who had their numbers too often....!!

The craving of those who were in their last numbers was so visible and it was so wonderful that they are able to forget all their past miseries when they complete the game with a triumphant smile. Those who lost seems to clearly realise that its just a game that they lost and they are so confident about their chance if the game is re-started once again !!

The whole structure of the game is so simply designed but it is taken care that no one can consider that he is a champion of the game. Rules are easily explainable to any one; one can try his luck playing with multiple number sheets with him; one can withdraw at any moment....and can substitute any body else ...if he wants. Its upto the players' excitement level to play the game in a deeper way but it is also possible that the game can be played monotonously without any involvement.....!!

You perceive so clearly that your circle of control is so small during the course of the game but still it engages you for a short while. You clearly understand at the end of the game that you won because of sheer luck and never dare to carry the weight of success in your head beyond few minutes of happiness...!!

How wonderful our lives could become if only we are able to take it just as a game of Tambola ....?? Very true, this game may not be interesting for brainy people and hard working people....!! This is not an apple to apple comparison on what we should be doing with our lives - rather, its all about how we should be doing what ever we are doing......

I get a strong feeling (rather just a ripple of thought) that what ever we call as destiny - which many of us believe at various degrees of depth - is actually not designed in a complex manner to balance out things in our lives. It could be as simple as the game of Tambola...which seems to be capable of getting defined quite easily at the highest level BUT easily explainable at the micro level - if only one gets all the inputs about any thing that happens in any one's life, it can be understood as easily as the game of Tambola !!

Am I confusing too much....Just that I feel that I am getting too clearer....!!

Enough for now.....!! Thanks

Suren