Carroms with a Kid

Thanks to Munnabhai M.B.B.S, modern day Indian Kids have re-discovered the beauty of the carroms game. And this time, it was my uncle's son who wanted to play carroms with me the other day. It had been really very long for me playing that game. For a moment, i went back in time, in school days, when every summer, I used to play carroms with my sister. I remember the way my sister used to loose in the game so that I could win it and feel happy about it. But, later when i came to knew about it, I felt bad that i won all those games on a non-merit basis. Hence, i decided not to repeat this with the kid. I thought to make the Kid learn something out of the game.

"अविनाश भैय्या, चलो ना कार्रोम्ज़ खेलते हैं....प्लीज", my little brother said as he brought the board fully drenched with powder. He put up a question mark face when i asked him which game he wanted to play. It was a pity to know that he didn't knew what kind of games could be played with the carroms. All he knew was, one shoots blacks while the other shoots whites and the lucky one walks away with the Queen. I suggested to play a game of Business.

He asked innocently, "बिजिनेज़ ? इश्के साथ हम बिजिनेज़ कैसे खेल शकते हैं भइया?"
And i taught him the rules of the game. Each white coin was priced at Rs.10/- and the black one at Rs.5/- while the Queen at Rs.25/-. On earning an amount of Rs.15/-, one could start investing it in the property. The property comprised of arrows, lines, spaces and holes on the standard carrom board. To buy an arrow, one had to pay an amount of 15/-, the line 30/, the space 60/-, the hole 80/-. If you buy a property, it meant whichever coin falls under your property becomes yours.

"हाआआआअ...........|", he took a long exclamatory breath!
"भइया, अगर कोई कोंन मेरे प्रोपर्टी मैं गिरी, तो वह मेरी हो जायेगी?"
"बिलकुल, जो भी काइन तेरे प्रोपर्टी में गिरेगी, तेरी हो जायेगी|"
"अर्र्रे ......वाह , यह तो भडिया है|"

And that was how, my li'l bro started learning the business terms, but still he was far away from the logistics. As we started the game, the moment i earned 15 bucks, i started investing in the property and got immediate returns. Innocent looks were staring at me, unknown of what had happened. I finished purchasing the entire property and my bro looked at me completely clueless of what to do. I insisted on re-starting the game and i began to tell him everything from investment to liquidation. My words hit his brain like a tangent. I started to give him examples so that he would understand better. We played the game and I waited until he earns fifteen bucks. But, he would miss the coins unfortunately.

"भइया, मेरे पास तो पैसे ही नहीं है| अब मैं बुजिनेज़ कैसे करूँगा?", he asked me in a confused state.
"एक काम कर, लोन लेले|", i suggested. He replied with a face which was more confused. I explained him what a loan meant and how he had to repay me with interest, once he started earning profits. He readily agreed and thus began the game - the game of virtual business through real carroms.

(Very loosely inspired from '100 pounds of popcorn' by Hazel Krantz)