AMID LOCKDOWN, NETIZENS TURN GAME ORGANISERS!
The coronavirus scare has made life mundane, but many have turned into professional game organisers amid the lockdown, hosting Ludo tournaments and Tambola nights. Mumbaibased entrepreneur Nikhil Trehan, who manages a Tambola group on WhatsApp with 150 members across India, says, “With no entertainment, we decided to try some fun activity to engage families via WhatsApp. We started playing on March 27.” What’s more, 10% of the prize money collected through each game is donated to PM CARES Fund.
And the situation is no different for Dilliwalas. Nimit Gandhi, a central government employee, and his banker-wife Riju Sharma, have created a WhatsApp group to conduct Tambola nights every day at 8pm or 10pm. “We generate tickets through an app and the amount (₹100 per ticket) is paid online,” says Gandhi, to which Sharma adds, “We keep sending rules and guidelines with a sample ticket so that it’s convenient for elderly to play as well. We ask participants to send us a picture to claim the prize. The winning amount is transferred within 15 minutes of the game.”
Businessman Siddharth Seth, who is part of a Ludo tournament group, explains, “A schedule is drafted which includes duration, qualifier rounds and teams.” He has also played a Ramayan-based version of Tambola. “We had Ramayan-themed prize, like 14 Saal ka Vanvaas meant Early 14 numbers, Ram Rajya was a Bumper House, Ayodhya Vaapsi for Bumper House 2,” he explains.