THE TILE FILES MAHJONG MANIA

The Oriental game, with aficionados the world over. is proving to be the healthiest addiction for ladies who lunch. A dazzling posse of five smitten women from Mumbai toast their playful connection

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We spent an afternoon with five women who are multitasking between 21st century parenting, ventures, in-laws and spouses, and still finding the bandwidth to vanish into this tiled universe. Clearly, this is a nouveau addiction sweeping over India and the world!

Netflix dramas like Crazy Rich Asians project the elegance with which Oriental women play the game, especially during festivities. Harking back to 19th century China’s Qing dynasty, mahjong rose to a fad in the post-WWI 1920s, after Joseph P. Babcock popularised it. The game also has a standardised American version developed in 1937 by the National Mah Jongg League. So in the 2020s, we're looking at a century-old craze!

If you aren’t intrigued yet, read on as a host of our women-about-town from Mumbai get together to play, match strategic powers, and talk about the most uplifting hours of their busy weeks.

RICHA BEGANI

WHO: Born to Ravi and Neelam Kohli, Richa is a fashion and lifestyle influencer, and a fourth-generation Kuwait girl, whose father has a history with corporate gifting and running restaurants. Richa's husband, Rohan Begani, founded Begani Jewels when he joined the family business (Diatex International) in 2008.

THE MAHJONG TAKEOVER: "I was very interested to learn something new. So, last November, I got together with some friends... We got a teacher on board, and there was no looking back. There are days where hours just go by playing. We don't look at our phones; we don't stress about telling the staff what to cook! We play two to three times a week. In fact, I hosted a Diwali mahjong just for our core 12 girls. And we play with money!"