Rummy, the Ideal Train Travel Companion 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 co ple of km to tho sands of km, some of the long distance ro tes take as m ch as two night and three days of travel time. !eople travelling long distances in trains often wind p making friends with co"travelers# $rending news, gossips, m sic and games is what bonds strangers travelling together on a long distance train. %f the many modes of ind lgence which train travelers resort to, one common and easily accepted one and all is the card game of r mmy, 1& 'ards Indian R mmy. $ho gh there are no statistical fig res to prove it, b t 1& 'ards Indian R mmy 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. (n)oying a position of being a widely played family game, most people in India have at some point of time in their life played R mmy and hence this family game also finds its way into the bogey of a train to keep p the good spirit of the travelers. $here is no do bt to this fact that 1& 'ards Indian R mmy 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 +0, of the -500. railway stations in India. /rom 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 beca se playing cards sell at stations as people travelling b y them. 0hat makes R mmy a preferred game for train travelers is its adoptability, for nlike other games where yo need board, dices, tiles, ponds, etc., all yo need to play r mmy is ) st decks of cards, a co"player1opponent and time, the last being in ab ndance when yo are travelling long distance by train. 1& 'ards Indian R mmy being a game which is easy to follow, even those who are playing for the first time easily pick on the game d ring the co rse of the travel. In metro cities like 2 mbai where the mode of travel to"and"fro from work is the over"crowded s b rban trains * it is common to find gro ps of people playing 13 Cards Indian Rummy even in these n"comfortable conditions. Indeed it3s ama4ing 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 s rface while players get ind lged in their favo rite past time. It indeed is an astonishing sight to see the deep ind lgence of the players as they drive away the bl es of that ncomfortable travel, miles away, as they get involved in melding their se5 ences and sets, while the train covers miles of )o rney taking them to work or back home. 0hat drives them to play 1& 'ards Indian R mmy in s ch sit ation, speaks vol mes of the game. 6 t all of this is bo nd to change in the coming years " r mmy websites and online r mmy is slowly b t firmly taking over the fancy of r mmy enth siast today. 0ith internet now available thro gh data cards with roaming facilities, it is likely that people travelling may s rely find it more enriching and rewarding to play r mmy online on their laptops while they are travelling. 0ith online rummy fast becoming a pop lar mode of recreation, the day is not far when we wo ld see the comm ters of 2 mbai s b rban trains playing r mmy online on their mobiles or other hand held devices, neither far is the day when yo hear cry of ) bilation in a crowded s b rban train and reali4e that somebody has won a cash pri4e, winning a r mmy game on his way back home * for r mmy was, r mmy is and r mmy will remain to be the best $rain $ravel 'ompanion.