‘Taash’ering in lady luck
The season of card parties has begun and local folks share their plans on hosting or attending the taash trail
A bit of luck, they say can go a long way! And that time is now. Celebrations to ring in the festival of lights have already kicked off with Diwali taash parties in the city. And while some just play to welcome lady luck, others feel it’s a ritual to welcome Goddess Lakshmi into their homes. There are also quite a handful who are serious players, who like to play high stakes and make the most of this festive season even though the legend says, lose during Diwali, and win all year through! Rajiv Ramnane, restaurateur, The Locals is hosting a cracker of a Diwali party this weekend.
He shares, “We are all set for our home party this weekend. Besides the usual festive décor and lamps, we have organised a karaoke session on one side of our house and on the other side there will be teen patti going on in groups. My wife Khushboo has taken care of the all the arrangements and invitations. We come up with many variations to the regular biggest number win for teen patti like Discard One, Guess the third, King Little, Queen Little, 1942 Love Story, AK47, Muflis, odd and even numbers and many more. Depending on the mood for the evening, the stakes sometimes can go very high from Rs 100 to even Rs 500.”
Ravina Belani, socialite and entrepreneur has been attending many taash parties during this time of the year. “We indulge in taash, masti and of course khana peena. Our parties began last weekend and will continue till the next week, although I feel this year there are fewer parties, compared to last year.”
Nirmala Naayak, socialite and entrepreneur, celebrates with great gusto every year. She says, “I look forward to inviting my friends to my place. We play cards to invite Goddess Lakshmi into our home. We like to stick to the old school style of teen patti without any variations that makes it confusing and our stakes range from Rs 10 to Rs 100.”
Bringing in a lot of variations to the teen patti game during this time of the year is Katherene Deborah Abel, a baker. Confessing to not being a high roller, she admits, “I play taash and attend a lot of teen patti parties with my friends. Our Diwali home parties continue for as long as we can hold our drinks, with lots of dancing on non stop Bollywood music. We start with low stakes of '10 and then move upto '100 and play till late hours.”