AN AFTERNOON GAME OF CARDS – NOSTALGIC KASHMIR

 

A few days back my friend Mr Rajan Wattal (Jammu), shared one of his recent paintings –depicting a scene from his own life in Kashmir – friends and family members playing a leisurely game of cards, on a Sunday afternoon at home! The scene took me down my memory lane too, to my childhood years in Kashmir. Painting shows a group of men sitting in a typical Kashmiri ‘kanie’ (top floor of the building) setting, playing a game of cards; empty glasses of tea can be seen along with a plate of snacks! Kashmir had a vibrant tradition of card games that were played with friends and relatives on Sundays, holidays, and on certain festive days like pre-Shivratri days (starting HuryOkdoh, Phalgun Krishn Paksh Pratipada), ‘Salaam” (day after Shivratri pooja) and during marriage festivities. It must be mentioned that during the ‘Herath fortnight’ (Phalgun Krishn Paksh) playing ‘haare(cowries) was a hallowed tradition and even women would participate – my late mother was supposed to be an expert! Such ‘mehfils’ used to be family events with even the senior male members participating besides the ladies; these mehfils would run late into the night and used to be great fun! Every child used to have his own stock of cowries(hare) and there would be barter between siblings! Playing cards on Diwali was not very popular in Kashmir -it became more common post 1970s! Given the cold climate in Kashmir, popularity of indoor games like chess and cards was only to be expected. Such ‘mehfils’ were a common occurrence in every KP Mohalla (KPs would mostly live in clusters of 5-6 houses, particularly in the downtown areas of Srinagar). Every Sunday afternoon (ora holiday), our house used to see a game of cards – I am lucky to have seen three generations of my family members playing cards. My first memory of seeing such ‘mehfils’ was probably sometime in 1962, with my late grandfather and his group of friends. It was a very interesting group -friends, relatives, and neighbours -his younger brother Dr SNM(fondly called Bob Ji), Pt MND, our neighbour fondly called Boba, Pt DNK (fondly called Dine Kakh), another neighbour! Pt GNK (nicknamed Prime Minister), Pt JNJ (nickname Tud-dum) would occasionally join as either participants or, as ‘interested spectators’ who would egg on the players with very pithy comments or wisecracks! In fact, the terminologies used by these seniors used to be funny and, at times, ‘colourful’. The game played used to be known as Turup(also known as Rang or Kot Piece, among other names) with fixed partners. While the game was not played for monetary stakes, it had its own set of ‘stake terminology’- Dav(double), Seh(tripling), Chahar(quadruple) and Panj (five times). Ego and ‘honour’ were the only stakes in the game! A couple of players and spectators being regular smokers needed to have a hookah (jajeer in Kashmiri) sizzling during the ‘high tension’ games – so the youngsters (my two uncles) would run to the kitchen to fetch embers in a Kangri as and when needed. Ladies of the house would keep a steady supply of tea (Kehwa or Sheery Chai, depending on the mood, with Kashmiri bakery items like Katlam or Telvor (a Kashmiri version of the Jewish Bagel) for the players and spectators. The next ‘generation’ consisted of my father and his friends neighbours. Some of the regulars were Pt KLM, a cousin cum neighbour, Pt PNT (nickname ‘charvan’), Pt BKA (nickname ‘Sorkhe’). Another participant was Pt KNB of Haal, a relative!The ‘mehfil’ would now take place in rooms, instead of the ‘kanie’. By now, the jajeer had been replaced by the ubiquitous cigarettes(almost everybody used to smoke) –the routine of endless cups of tea with snacks remained unchanged. Game continued to be Turup but occasionally, another game called Sweep would be played. Money made its way into the game – at very low level of 25p per game. In the 1960s, my two buas got married and their husbands would occasionally come to spend a night or two at our home. Such ‘special nights’ would invariably turn into ‘card nights’ – the two’ jeejas’, my father, and my uncle, Sh TKM would play Turup or Sweep (with stakes) for the entire night! Later, my uncle Sh TKM had his own group of friends – Mr SKC, BKG&VKG and maybe 1-2 more friends! The mehfil would now take place at the residence of the Gurkhas, another neighbour. My uncle told me that the tradition of card games continued in our ‘mohalla’ in downtown Srinagar into 1980s – the players and venue would change, even the games had changed; Applaud and Flash (Teen Patti) became more popular. Playing for monetary stakes became more common. Marriages were another ‘occasion’ for Card Games – at both the groom’s house as well as at the bride’s home. Participants would invariably be the younger male members and the games used to be played for high monetary stakes. The pinnacle would be reached on the day of Barat, at the marriage venue – the bride’s side would invariably arrange proper accommodation (a special room) where the groom’s friends, colleagues and relatives would play ‘flash’ (teenpatti)! Regular tea-snack service was a part of the ‘protocol’! At times these mehfils would last for the entire day (mostly, weddings used to be day time events) with the players hardly participating in the wedding procedures, focused, like Prem Chand’s “Shatranj keKhiladis” on their game! Here too, while as many as 6-8 gentlemen would be the ‘players’, there would be 10-15 ‘onlookers’ egging them on or waiting for their turn for actual participation in the game! Amongst KPs, we used to have another event, post marriage, called ‘Fir Saal’ when the groom and his bride would spend a night at the bride’s father’s house! A grand dinner would often be followed by a session of cards! I have a personal memory attached to this event - my wife’s family was a great lover of card games. I, and along with my co-brother (humzulf in Urdu, Sajuv in Kashmiri) were expected to play. In my college days only, I had promised my grandfather that I would not play cards if money was involved. So, I had to say a polite no to my wife’s grandfather, much to his disappointment! He even offered to ’finance’ me by loaning money but I remained steadfast in my resolve, preferring to be a spectator that night, as others in the family filled up my space! Another memory that remains etched to my mind are the card games my late father would play with his friends during ‘lunch time’ while he was posted to Salal Hydroelectric Project, Reasi, sometime around 1975. My father lived a ‘bachelor’ life at Q. No D-75, Jyotipuram since family stayed put at Jammu. His friends cum colleagues, Pt Maniram Khajuria, Pt Sudarshan Sharma and Mr Raj Kumar would play ‘animated’ games of ‘Sweep” or Turup till it was time to return to the drudgery of office! Occasionally, I would travel to be with my father and ‘participate’ as an onlooker! In Kashmir, Bridge as a Card Game was known, but played only by the thin upper crust of the society- the ‘hoi polloi’! Chess was another indoor game but its appeal too was limited. My late grandfather was a chess enthusiast and introduced me to the game at an early age (15?). Again, the game used to have two players but multiple ‘advisors and onlookers! Card games were equally popular amongst Kashmiri Muslims – in fact there was a set of youngsters, call them street urchins, who would play a card game called “Monge’ Pattye’ in street corners – with money as stake; these guys would be wary of the ‘friendly’ neighbourhood policeman for whom such ‘players’ were a source of ‘easy money’! As I was collecting information on this subject, I was keen to update myself about post Migration scenario in our community – so talked to my Gurugram based friend Mr AM, who was an enthusiastic ‘regular’ in card games during my time, at Srinagar as well as Jammu! His feedback was that post migration, particularly in last 25 yrs, the tradition of playing cards during marriages has declined dramatically. The reasons he enumerated include: a) lack of proper space and atmosphere, b) the community/ relatives got scattered due to jobs. Marriages these days are ‘performed’ in ‘Marriage Palaces’ where it is difficult to provide ‘designated space’ for a leisurely card game. Everybody is in a hurry to register his/ her face with the host before scurrying off! In Kashmir, life was more relaxed; friends and neighbours would start ‘arriving’ from the day of ‘livun’, resulting in night long card games, mostly ‘flash’! Now people barely have time to participate in long winded ‘family events’ (mostly, wedding events’ too, stand pared to basic minimum required) – more time gets spent in travel to the venue! If people come to attend from different cities, they have their ‘time limitations’! So, time’s shadow falls on us humans, on our customs and traditions in myriad ways! While the post migration generation might not have many memories of these activities, so common in our society till we moved from Kashmir, people of my generation would have seen and experienced the card games, so popular in our community. Nostalgia, at times, is both a boon and a curse!

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Courtesy: SANJEEV MUNSHI  and  Spade A Spade,2025