Indulge in temptations but with moderation
One sordid aspect of gambling is that it can make inroads into otherwise harmless and pleasant pastimes. Take, for instance, the game of cricket. With England as its home, it was essentially understood as an activity that gentlemen indulged in, and largely for entertainment. Over time, however, it unfortunately degenerated into an irresistible attraction for inveterate gamblers.
The danger of a pastime, primarily meant for pleasure, degenerating into an addiction that leads to disaster, is also illustrated in some Hindu epics.
For example, in Mahabharata, Yudhishthir, the eldest of the Pandava brothers, is renowned for his unwavering commitment to Dharma or righteousness. And, typical of most of the characters in that remarkable narrative, he has a minor weakness, in the shape of the temptation to play dice, although only for entertainment in normal circumstances. He is lured by the Kaurava prince, Duryodhana, into participating in a game of dice, which, unfortunately, happens to be a rigged event, thanks to the scheming machinations of Shakuni, the wily and cunning uncle of Duryodhana. And, as the game progresses, Yudhishthir, in his insatiable desire to continue playing, gradually loses wealth, his kingdom, his brothers, and finally, his wife, Draupadi. As agreed to before the game’s commencement, Yudhishthir and his brothers go away to stay in a forest for 12 years and spend another year living incognito. The narrative then takes a dramatic turn and leads to the historic war at Kurukshetra between the two clans. The episode of gambling serves as a lesson that, any weakness, if not reined in and kept under control, will eventually lead to disaster.
In the well-known work, ‘Kanyasulkam’, authored by the legendary Gurajada Apparao, Girisam, the principal character of the play, extolls, in a poem, the virtues of tobacco. The essence of that is that Garuda, the king of the bird kingdom and the Mount of Lord Vishnu, was once flying in the sky, carrying a bowl of nectar, when a drop fell to the ground and became a tobacco plant. And, tongue in cheek and praising the virtues of tobacco, the poet declares that those who do not smoke will be born, in their next birth, as bullocks!
A curious feature of gambling is that dame fortune often favours those indifferent to riches, while frowning upon those who seek her favour. For instance, the plot of the old Telugu movie, Vaddante Dabbu, is about a painter who falls in love with the daughter of a wealthy man. To test his character, he is given a sum of ₹one lakh and a challenge is posed to him. He must spend it all within 30 days without donating it or using it for wasteful purposes. With the help of a friend, he ventures into various activities, such as gambling and house building, only to find that his wealth was growing instead of diminishing. Disillusioned, he returns the money, to subsequently realise that the task was, as a matter of fact, a test of his love, not about splurging money!
The irresistible lure of horse racing is another facet of gambling. To truly understand the intricacies, nuances and intrigues one must read novels of Dick Francis. Many of them deal with crime in the horse racing world, with some of the criminals being outwardly respectable figures.
Another activity that most people indulge in is playing the stock market. It also involves deep study, calculation, and sound judgement. The lucky ones not only make the occasional small fortune, but are also, at times, rewarded by way of handsome dividends and bonus shares. Stock brokers assist rookies in the field by managing their funds. Not all players, unfortunately, play the game by the rule. There are, regrettably, those for whom it is neither a hobby, nor a pastime, but a profession. Share market manipulation is intentionally, and deceptively, to influence the supply and demand of a security, to control its price, for personal profit and to exploit other investors. It undermines the integrity and fairness of the financial markets.
Readers fond of Hindi movies will recollect ‘Big Bull’ featuring Abhishek Bachchan centred around indulging in fraud in playing the stock market, may result in initial, in fact, spectacular, accumulation of wealth, but will invariably lead to disaster. The plot is based on the life of Harshad Mehta, who orchestrated a massive securities scam in India in 1992 that involved using fake bank receipts to siphon funds from banks. The scam caused a crash in the stock market and exposed loopholes in the country’s financial system, leading to new regulations.
Ketan Parekh was another such infamous fraudster, who was involved in manipulating the prices of certain stocks between 1998 and 2001. He also used large sums of money borrowed from banks. And, as in the case of Harshad Mehta, he ended up facing criminal charges and spent several terms in jail.
Another popular version of gambling is Roulette, operated in casinos. A player is required to place a bet, either on a single number or varying combinations of odd and even numbers, or the red and black colours. The croupier in charge of the table spins the wheel in one direction, and later spins a ball in the opposite direction around the tilted circular track running around the outer edge of the wheel. Finally, when the ball loses momentum it comes to a halt and falls into the wheel and into the coloured and numbered pockets. The winnings are then paid to anyone who has placed a successful bet. Apart from the casinos in Las Vegas, I remember having visited another in Kathmandu when I was visiting Nepal on official work, and having a very interesting time, playing various machines and games.
An extremely popular version of gambling is playing cards, an activity in which most people, especially in the northern regions, indulge in during festivals. Of them ‘teen patti’ or ‘three cards’, is most popular. It also has a cultural link to Janmashtami and Diwali.
Another highly popular cards game is rummy, in which a number of players can participate. Some of my friends, and I, play rummy, more for enjoying companionship and stimulating conversation, than for the pleasure of the game itself. Being, by large, a friendly affair, the occasional attempt to trick the others, by some bit of deception or the other is also not uncommon. And, soon enough, despite all the original firm resolutions, the session invariably degenerates into flash. As there is nothing at stake, all kinds of imaginary high stakes are employed. Whatever the result, all these get together invariably end up in the whole group heading to the nearest prominent hotel for a hearty meal, which, in any case, was the intention of everyone in the first place!
One sordid aspect of gambling is that it can make inroads into otherwise harmless and pleasant pastimes. Take, for instance, the game of cricket. With England as its home, it was essentially understood as an activity that gentlemen indulged in, and largely for entertainment. Over time, however, it unfortunately, degenerated into an irresistible attraction for inveterate gamblers; a source of income, not merely for the players, the officials supervising the conduct of the game, those who manage their affairs of cricket at the district, state and national levels in India, but also for the betting public.
Long forgotten, now, are the days when matches lasted over five days and were a slow paced and easy going source of entertainment and enjoyment, not merely for the players, but also to the spectators. Cricket has now turned into a dog business, with the game’s shorter version stealing the thunder and glory from the most popular version of the greatest game in the world.
No subject lends itself to humour so much as horse racing does. Here is something from one of the novels of the inimitable ‘Performing Flea’ of English literature, P.G. Wodehouse.
Referring to one of his characters in a book, he says that the chap had bet on a horse which, but for a burst of speed towards the end, would have got mixed up in the next race!
(The writer was formerly Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh)
