Indian Railways besides being one of the largest networks in the world is also one of the most cost effective modes of travel in India. An estimated 25 million people travel daily by trains in over 10,000 trains, people travel from as little as a couple of km to thousands of km, some of the long distance routes take as much as two night and three days of travel time.
People travelling long distances in trains often windup making friends with co-travelers; Trending news, gossips, music and games is what bonds strangers travelling together on a long distance train. Of the many modes of indulgence which train travelers resort to, one common and easily accepted one and all is the card game of rummy, 13 Cards Indian Rummy.
Though there are no statistical figures to prove it, but 13 Cards Indian Rummy is an accepted game in most Indian homes, being a game played on almost all occasion that calls for get together of family or friends. Enjoying a position of being a widely played family game, most people in India have at some point of time in their life played Rummy and hence this family game also finds its way into the bogey of a train to keep up the good spirit of the travelers.
There is no doubt to this fact that 13 Cards Indian Rummy is the most preferred game of people who are traveling by trains in India - and standing proof of the same is the availability of deck of cards at 90% of the 7500+ railway stations in India. From news paper and book stalls, to stationery stalls, to toys and gift stalls on the station, every one of them keep deck of cards with them for sale, simply because playing cards sell at stations as people travelling buy them.
What makes Rummy a preferred game for train travelers is its adoptability, for unlike other games where you need board, dices, tiles, ponds, etc., all you need to play rummy is just decks of cards, a co-player/opponent and time, the last being in abundance when you are travelling long distance by train. 13 Cards Indian Rummy being a game which is easy to follow, even those who are playing for the first time easily pick on the game during the course of the travel.
In metro cities like Mumbai where the mode of travel to-and-fro from work is the over-crowded suburban trains - it is common to find groups of people playing 13 Cards Indian Rummy even in these un-comfortable conditions. Indeed it's amazing to see how a portfolio case or brief case transforms into a card table as cards are dealt and deck of face down and pile of discarded cards land on its surface while players get indulged in their favourite past time. It indeed is an astonishing sight to see the deep indulgence of the players as they drive away the blues of that uncomfortable travel, miles away, as they get involved in melding their sequences and sets, while the train covers miles of journey taking them to work or back home. What drives them to play 13 Cards Indian Rummy in such situation, speaks volumes of the game.
But all of this is bound to change in the coming years - rummy websites and online rummy is slowly but firmly taking over the fancy of rummy enthusiast today. With internet now available through data cards with roaming facilities, it is likely that people travelling may surely find it more enriching and rewarding to play rummy online on their laptops while they are travelling. With online rummy fast becoming a popular mode of recreation, the day is not far when we would see the commuters of Mumbai suburban trains playing rummy online on their mobiles or other hand held devices, neither far is the day when you hear cry of jubilation in a crowded suburban train and realize that somebody has won a cash prize, winning a rummy game on his way back home - for rummy was, rummy is and rummy will remain to be the best Train Travel Companion.
People travelling long distances in trains often windup making friends with co-travelers; Trending news, gossips, music and games is what bonds strangers travelling together on a long distance train. Of the many modes of indulgence which train travelers resort to, one common and easily accepted one and all is the card game of rummy, 13 Cards Indian Rummy.
Though there are no statistical figures to prove it, but 13 Cards Indian Rummy is an accepted game in most Indian homes, being a game played on almost all occasion that calls for get together of family or friends. Enjoying a position of being a widely played family game, most people in India have at some point of time in their life played Rummy and hence this family game also finds its way into the bogey of a train to keep up the good spirit of the travelers.
There is no doubt to this fact that 13 Cards Indian Rummy is the most preferred game of people who are traveling by trains in India - and standing proof of the same is the availability of deck of cards at 90% of the 7500+ railway stations in India. From news paper and book stalls, to stationery stalls, to toys and gift stalls on the station, every one of them keep deck of cards with them for sale, simply because playing cards sell at stations as people travelling buy them.
What makes Rummy a preferred game for train travelers is its adoptability, for unlike other games where you need board, dices, tiles, ponds, etc., all you need to play rummy is just decks of cards, a co-player/opponent and time, the last being in abundance when you are travelling long distance by train. 13 Cards Indian Rummy being a game which is easy to follow, even those who are playing for the first time easily pick on the game during the course of the travel.
In metro cities like Mumbai where the mode of travel to-and-fro from work is the over-crowded suburban trains - it is common to find groups of people playing 13 Cards Indian Rummy even in these un-comfortable conditions. Indeed it's amazing to see how a portfolio case or brief case transforms into a card table as cards are dealt and deck of face down and pile of discarded cards land on its surface while players get indulged in their favourite past time. It indeed is an astonishing sight to see the deep indulgence of the players as they drive away the blues of that uncomfortable travel, miles away, as they get involved in melding their sequences and sets, while the train covers miles of journey taking them to work or back home. What drives them to play 13 Cards Indian Rummy in such situation, speaks volumes of the game.
But all of this is bound to change in the coming years - rummy websites and online rummy is slowly but firmly taking over the fancy of rummy enthusiast today. With internet now available through data cards with roaming facilities, it is likely that people travelling may surely find it more enriching and rewarding to play rummy online on their laptops while they are travelling. With online rummy fast becoming a popular mode of recreation, the day is not far when we would see the commuters of Mumbai suburban trains playing rummy online on their mobiles or other hand held devices, neither far is the day when you hear cry of jubilation in a crowded suburban train and realize that somebody has won a cash prize, winning a rummy game on his way back home - for rummy was, rummy is and rummy will remain to be the best Train Travel Companion.