Gambling In Sikkim Analysis

“Gambling in Sikkim- a cultural phenomenon”
‘Eyes up, pens down’- and so it begins. The tension is palpable, as a man rhymes pithy sayings and one-liners to numbers. It is a gathering of people at the terrace of Kanchendzonga Shopping Complex, for Tambola (a variant of Bingo). The man on the mic could get away with the vilest of sexist remarks, if my uber-feminist friend gets that one coveted number that would complete her “Top Line”. But it’s not all misogynistic wordplay, in fact, a lot of historically significant dates are also recounted during the course of the game. For instance: “Netaji Budday” is number 26, “Kachera bhayeko saal” is the Agitation of ‘73. The anticipation, the giddiness of screaming “Yes!”, and the sheer thrill of crossing off numbers on a flimsy piece of paper while basking in the crispy winter sun, which could stand you the chance of winning a small fortune; more than compensates for the time and the money you spent. Or so I have made myself believe after my great dry spell of January 2017.
The American Psychiatric Association, recognizes two
A part of being a Sikkimese, is accepting the fact that gambling is knitted into the very fabric of our identity. It’s something that is not frowned upon. Not a stigma, rather a harmless activity that is integrated to almost all the major festivals and holidays. So much so, that in my family, you’re not a good host, if you don’t shoehorn a teen paati session or Flash, in Dasain. Whenever, we have guests in our house, it eventually leads to a session of Marriage or Rummy, and sometimes, we have people over on holidays, just for playing cards. In Dasain, we pray to the Goddess Durga, adorn colorful rice on our forehead after being blessed by our grandparents and then we sit down with a plate of khasi ko maasu (mutton) and the poison of our choice, to bet money. The irony lost amidst the clamor that ensues in finding out who shorted the required “boat”