Sunday afternoons meant Contract Bridge in Officers Club

There was a time in Nashik when there were several individuals who had a common interest in playing contract bridge. They belonged to not only HAL but hailed from related Government agencies associated with HAL. A few of them were diehard bridge players and they took the initiative to launch the Sunday afternoon versions. There are various games of cards from Patience, played by loners, to teen-patti which is nothing but gambling to bridge where the players are tested to their limits.

In bridge also there are two types – the auction bridge and the contract bridge. Both versions of bridge involve four players and a deck of 52-cards but, contract bridge is more sophisticated. Even its scorecard. The chart where the score is maintained ensures equal vulnerability for both the teams.
Anyway, the Sunday afternoons transformed into four to five hours of brain racking exercises to fulfil the contracts of 3-No Trumps, or a Low Slam or a Grand Slam (yes, GS had been contracted and successfully met!)
The game kept every player mentally alert and on tenterhooks. The players included senior managers like the GM, AGMs, and DGMs as well many of their subordinates. On these occasions, all of them sipped tea from paper cups, munched biscuits and, at the end of the session, distributed prizes.
There would be bonhomie all around and, even though there would be arguments between partners and heated exchanges to justify a particular move, the players would come together again the next week. (to be continued…)

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