A sense of belonging

A couple of very efficient enumerators rang the doorbell a few days ago. Suddenly, I was a part of the gigantic census, soaking in every moment, as they translated my answers into numeric codes on their gigantic data capture sheets. I was advised to look out for an advertisement, after which I would need to show up somewhere with a passport size photograph. And then will begin another momentous journey of becoming part of the UID programme! Furthering the sentiment of plugging into larger-than-life phenomenon, there’s the world cup to follow. Increasingly slothful and late into the night I blearily and enviously watch impressively fit sportsmen strut their stuff. And depend on the Net, and the paper to decode the nuances and expert opinions of the games I saw!
Backgammon is another phenomenon that I’ve always been curious about, and strangely reluctant to embrace. United Toys have detailed play instructions that make for an agonisingly painful read! Plough through them with the board setup beside you. Play out every move they have illustrated. And suddenly you’ll realise why this game is such a classic. United Toys took no chances however, and have also thrown in a checkers board on the reverse!
I wiped years of dust off the carton and set up Backgammon to play. It’s a delicious two-player game, that involves moving your 15 coins around four ‘tables’ on the game board, to your ‘inner table’ and then ‘bearing them’ off the board! Along the way, you eliminate the opponent’s coins, grapple with ‘block’ areas where you are not permitted access, and figure how best to use the numbers you have thrown on the two dice you roll with every turn. The movement from right to left is intriguing. The ‘bearing-off’ element at the end of the game is unique. You’d expect the game to end when you aggregate your coins in the end zone. Instead, there’s a whole lot of play ahead!
The exaggerated diamond shaped ‘bar’ in the centre of the board hosts eliminated opponent’s coins. I wish I had discovered Backgammon earlier. I finally know the difference between a Simple victory, a Gammon, and a Backgammon. I’m richer for it. And feel like I belong!

The author may be contacted at arup_kavan@yahoo.com [1]