🎵 A carrom tournament with a pressure cooker lid trophy, now in its third month

Three months ago my uncle announced that our family would have a Sunday carrom tournament, and since then it has taken over every weekend. There are eight of us who play, from my 11 year old cousin to my grandfather, who is 79 and refuses to use the powder on the board because he says it is cheating. We play doubles and singles, with a points table my aunt made on the back of a calendar page, and a trophy that is a pressure cooker lid my mother gave up without being asked. The funny part is how seriously everyone takes it. My cousin practised on the board for two weeks before the first match and beat me 25 to 6. My uncle blames the striker when he misses, and my aunt keeps a separate notebook of who has been caught pocketing the queen too early. Last month there was a real argument over whether a coin touching the line counts or not, and we had to call my other uncle from Tolichowki on the phone to settle it. He said it does not count. Nobody liked that answer. We usually finish by 5 pm, then have tea and samosas that cost 10 rupees each from the shop at the corner. The best part is that nobody picks up a phone for at least three hours. I never expected a wooden board to do what a hundred family WhatsApp groups could not. This Sunday is the semifinal, and I am drawn against my grandfather, who has not lost a single game since August.

Your grandfather refusing the powder is a power move, I would not bet against him. We ran a family ludo league last year and it died in week five over one dice roll. Yours survived three months, so the points table and trophy are clearly doing the work. Keep a rulebook on the wall and make the 11 year old referee. Kids rarely take sides, at least in my house.