A game of Housie!

It is tough to come up with a fun activity to engage a community gathering. It is a motley crowd where the age, background, language and tastes differ. If there is one game that cuts across these barriers and keeps everyone interested, it is “Housie”! Perhaps, it is the innate human urge to gamble and ride entirely upon ones luck that makes this game so popular. 

The rules of the game are known to everyone. The fastest to the first five hits is the “jaldi-five” prize, followed by “any-line” and finally the “full-house”! Excitement bubbles up in the air as the game is about to begin. Each one fancies himself to be the chosen one- the winner of the jack-pot! 

The “Housie” conductor does not simply read out the numbers. He does it with a certain flair peculiar to the game. If it is a single digit number, he calls out, “all by itself, the number 3”! If it is 13, he prefaces it with- “unlucky for some, lucky for others, one-three, 13!” If it is 16, he qualifies it with “sweet 16”. For 50, he announces, “five-zero, fif-tie”! Children giggle, “He is saying fif-tie for fifty!” 

Competitors of all age-groups ranging from 8 to 80, tick the numbers off feverishly. Each time a number is called out, shouts of “Yes!” rent the air. Equal number of groans are from the disappointed ones. “He is not shuffling and picking the numbers! No wonder, it is not matching our ticket!” they complain. The ones who complain sink into deeper abyss. They try all means including a change of seat, but lady-luck continues to elude them. 

There are some who live in the past. They need clarification on numbers already called out. “Did he call out 67 already?” they pester their neighbors. In the process, they miss the present numbers too! 

Soon, we have a winner for jaldi-five! And before long, the “any-line” prizes are also gone. All that remains is the full-house! It is a nail-biting finish like the last over of a T-20 Cricket match. For some, only one number separates them from crowning glory! Each time a number is called out, they are all agog, their hearts pounding. 

From a corner, an elderly man raises his hand and unobtrusively makes his way to the podium. The conductor verifies the numbers and proclaims him as the winner! “Oohs and Ahs” fill the hall as all emotions play out. On his face is but a hint of a smile. He cannot understand what the fuss is about. He did not intend to play the game at all. He sat through it because he happened to be there. Such is life!