A Round Of Mahjong , Milady

Jagmeeta Thind Joy of the Indian Express writes about how a group of army wives have taken a fancy to a popular chinese game and are trying to keep the interest going.......

The year was 1982. Somewhere in Lucknow cantonment, a young major’s wife was giving finishing touches to her immaculately made hair bun. The monthly Ladies’ Club meet was due to roll out in a few minutes and Darshi Harkirat Singh was never one to be late. An Indian army officer’s wife seldom is. A few minutes later as she made her way into the Officers’ Mess, she bumped into a senior officer’s wife. A quick hello from Darshi was followed by a question from the lady that would change the way Darshi would spend most afternoons there on. “Do you play Mahjong, Mrs Singh?” the lady had asked. And thus began Darshi’s initiation into the Chinese game. “Before I knew it I was part of a foursome and shuffling the tiles like a pro,” the petite 60-something Darshi reminisces today.

But those were the early ’80s and Mahjong was as popular with the wives of our men in uniform as it was in mainland China. “Most of the senior ladies knew how to play...it was the done thing then,” Darshi, who has been playing for more than a decade, says. The saying went that if an army wife knew how to dish out a sumptuous Chinese meal, chances were she also knew how to win hands down at Mahjong. “Whenever we shifted stations, I would invariably find someone who knew the game. It isn’t so now,” says Darshi. For the fauji ladies clubs are only focused on their army-wife club activities and most young officers’ wives are also working professionals who, as Darshi adds, would never find an afternoon free.


Which makes Darshi Harkirat Singh and her three Mohali-based friends—Kanak Saksena, Raj Rai and Nirmal Khaira — bond more than ever before. Almost every day, as the hands on the clock inch towards 10.30 a.m, the foursome gathers around a square table in any one of their homes. The next two hours, as the ladies put it, “just fly past.”

Curious to see what’s made them never miss a date for 10 years now, we troop in at Raj Rai’s home. She’s also a wife of a retired Colonel and a Mahjong enthusiast. Strangely, no loud chatter greets us as we enter the room where the women are sitting across the table with Scrabble-like stands in front of them. The only sounds you can catch are the clicking of game tiles and a conversation peppered with Chinese words: “Three booze”, “Five dragon”, “Pung”, “Cong”.

Clearly, Mahjong, played with as many as 144 rectangular tiles, each of which has either a Chinese lettering or symbol or painting, isn’t an easy game to gather at one go. It’s a little like a card game and as many as 48 hands can be made. A single guide book can never really pack in all the rules. “There are many versions of the game. The Chinese, of course, have their original one and there’s the American, Korean, Japanese, and the Indian, which has been influenced by the British,” says Rai.

While the Indian army wives have been long associated with the game in the country, Kanak Saksena, wife of a former tea planter tells us how old-timers in the tea garden companies in the Northeast continue to play Mahjong. “I believe the British memsahibs popularised the game when the European tea companies were being set up decades ago,” says the 70-year-old, who picked up the game during her husband’s tenure in Assam.


Harsimrat Kaur is one loyal player in the tea belt. Her husband is a CEO with a tea company in Assam’s Mangaldai district and it was while shifting into a new bungalow that she found an old Mahjong set tucked away in the store. “At first, I didn’t really know what it was until I mentioned it at a party,” she says. “I realised almost everyone possessed a set and knew a bit about the game.” It took a while for Kaur to make a foursome but a group now meets occasionally to play a few rounds.

Elsewhere in Mumbai, which has its own set of rules for the game, Mahjong players are enjoying their moment in the sun. This March saw a special three-day event for lovers of the game, whih was put together by veteran players like Sushila Pratap Singh— who is also a Mahjong teacher—and Chandrakala Aggarwala. The star guest was Tom Sloper, an international expert on the game, who not only played rounds but also introduced the Mumbai ladies to foreign versions of Mahjong. “The Mumbai style of Mahjong has more special hands for every round played,” says Sloper, over phone from California. He even carried an Indian rulebook back with him. “The Indian style is similar to the one played in most British colonies,” he says.

“In China, only men play Mahjong and they gamble, unlike in India,” says Nirmal Khaira. “All Mahjong played in India is done using pointers though we refer to them in money denominations,” Darshi says. That bit of information earns her a quick reprimand from Khaira for not paying attention. “See, that’s why we can’t gossip. The game requires attention all the time,” says Khaira, who is such an avid player that her children gift her a new Mahjong set every birthday. “You can’t get them here though I’ve that heard in Calcutta you could still find an old Chinese shop that sells the sets,” she says.Luckily, they have had a chance to grab a set each from trips made to Canada, Australia and America, where Khaira got her prized antique ivory set.

The game is one that requires skill and an ounce of luck. “It’s a dying tradition. Since it requires time to both learn and play, the younger lot isn’t interested,” says Rai. “I would love to get more players involved. As for us, we will continue playing as long as Alzheimer’s doesn’t make us stop,” she says with a laugh as the game clicks on.

Lots of new freelance jobs posted

More than a 100 freelance jobs have been posted on the forum.

Do visit this link for details:

http://clubbraveheart.forumotion.net/work-from-home-job-opportunities-f4/

Senior Officer Or Abuser?

A case of attempted murder and sexual exploitation was lodged against a senior army officer
posted at Namkum Cantonment by another armyman's wife at the local police station on Wednesday.

In her complaint, Archana Mishra said Namkum Cantonment commanding officer Sharad Rastogi has been making sexual advances towards her for the last couple of months. Her husband, who is also in the army, is currently posted in Rajasthan. "Rastogi made several attempts to physically exploit me during the last two months in the absence of my husband D K Mishra, who is posted at Rajasthan in the 89 Armored Regiment and there is no one to protect me from the officer," said Archana while coming out of the Namkum police station after lodging the FIR. "When I left my house this morning I was hit from behind by a motorcycle with a defense registration number. I am sure that this was also done by Rastogi," said Archana. She has sustained face injuries and blood was oozing out of her nose. She also had a broken tooth. After lodging the FIR, she went to the local hospital for treatment.

She also alleged that some aides of Rastogi posted at Rajasthan were pressurizing her husband. "They are trying to convince him to persuade me not to lodge the FIR as it would send a wrong message to the society. But I have decided not to keep quiet," she added. Namkum police station officer in charge Venkatesh confirmed that an FIR has been lodged against Rastogi. "I will take action only after investigation," said Venkatesh. Despite repeated attempts, Rastogi could not be contacted.

Source : TOI

Justice Well Served

Does the modern day woman need to put up with this...........

It couldn't have been worse than this. The barbaric incident of marital abuse, inflicted by one serving officer on another of the same rank, shocked the Indian Armed forces, known for its high standards of discipline.The Army top brass court-martialled the abuser, Captain Anant Prakash Dixit, and put him under detention, and in a humanitarian gesture, promoted the victim to the rank of a Major.The victim, a captain in the Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (EME) battalion, has been posted to an undisclosed location.

When contacted, senior Army officers were tight-lipped about the issue. However, the chargesheet filed by the Army, a copy of which is with the MiDDAY, mentions that "Capt Dixit drove his wife, of 606 Electronics and Mechanical Engineering Battalion, out of his house stark naked."Thirty-three-year-old Dixit was found guilty and after a thorough investigation, the Army decided to court-martial him.Sources said that the accused officer was court-martialled in December last year. "Dixit was accused of torturing and assaulting his wife, who is now a major in the Army. The Army had registered five charges against him. Strict action has been taken against the accused as per the military court," said a senior official from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorised to make a statement.

To escape punishment, Capt Dixit even tried to commit suicide in October last year by stabbing himself with a knife. He underwent treatment for depression. However, the medical report found him fit to undergo court-martial proceedings. Captain Dixit, for whom torturing his wife was a part of his daily routine, landed himself in trouble on June 2, 2006, when he tried to strangulate his wife.

The captain, who joined the Indian Army as a Short Service Commission (SSC) officer, was commissioned into 23 Medium Regiment and was posted at Allahabad with his wife.According to the chargesheet, the first offence by Captain Dixit was registered in May 2006, when he slapped his wife so hard that her ear drum was damaged. "There was a perforation in her left eardrum," said the chargesheet.The second and third offences were registered in June 2006, when Dixit fractured his wife's nasal bone and forced her to run naked in the night. However, that wasn't the end. Captain Dixit again assaulted his wife a few days later and this time besides physically torturing her, he tried to strangulate her. He was booked for attempt to murder for the crime.Sources said that the case was reported to the senior authorities and an inquiry was initiated.

To escape punishment, Capt Dixit even tried to commit suicide in October last year by stabbing himself with a knife. He underwent treatment for depression. However, the medical report found him fit to undergo court-martial proceedings.

Source: Mid-Day