Hooked to gambling?

Indians' yen for teen patti, western style! Palm Beach casino is located off Berkeley Square in London's very elite Mayfair. One Saturday evening when I was there I saw more Indians than any other community. Snatches of Punjabi and Malayalam and Hindi and Gujarati could be heard over the clanging of the slot machines and the roll of the dice. Obviously, this was not unusual. The menu at the swanky dining room had a host of Indian dishes. The background music frequently lapsed into the lilting notes of sitar and flute. My fellow compatriots appeared to be well heeled, absorbed in the game, and greatly enjoying themselves.

Are Indian's predisposed to gambling? Do we find the game of chance irresistible? Does the opportunity to make money suddenly and against all odds have a special appeal for us? Is this predisposition something to do with the natural empathy we have for rags to riches stories? The organised lottery market in India totals a staggering $7 billion — roughly 2 per cent of the country's GDP. During the cricket World Cup in 2003, over one billion US dollars was spent on betting in India, the highest among participating nations. People were willing to bet even when they knew that there was no way of enforcing settlements since-ironically-betting is illegal in India. So are casinos.

But everyone knows that in the weeks leading up to Diwali, teen patti is a ubiquitous pursuit across the country. There is a popular belief-especially in Northern India-that gambling around Diwali is auspicious. Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, who is arguably the most widely worshipped female deity in the Hindu pantheon, is pleased when her devotees play to win in the game of chance. The rich gamble away lakhs in one night.

I recall meeting some very successful Indian businessmen in London at an informal lunch some time ago. Many of them spoke with great pride about the thousands of pounds they had lost or won during the last Diwali season. The less rich have less to lose but gamble too. It is an interesting line of thought why the dyoot krida — the roll of the dice —played such a pivotal role in the story of India's greatest epic, the Mahabharata.

Most people play the game socially; they would not play everyday, but enjoy playing it with friends and relatives, although they can technically be arrested for it. Very few end up completely bankrupted like Yudhisthir. But the Indians who compulsively visit Kathmandu for its casinos, or who are a regular feature at the Palm Beach in London, have undoubtedly some part of Dharmaraj's legacy resonating in their genes.

Casinos are a source of revenue, just as bars and five star hotels are. The belief that they will irremediably corrupt a people is as fallacious as the notion that censorship can safeguard the morals of a nation. Yes, all forms of entertainment need some regulation, and it is interesting that in London new rules enforced since March this year make it compulsory for those who enter a casino to register themselves through a valid identity card such as a driving licence or passport.

The Government of India must have its reasons to debar casinos, but hypocrisy should not be one of these. All policies, which are based on an unrealistic level of idealism end as failure. We have only to recall what happened to the policy of Prohibition to understand how true this is.

(A Stephenian, Pavan Kumar Varma is a senior Indian diplomat and presently Minister of Culture and Director of the Nehru Centre in London. Author of several widely acclaimed books likeGhalib: the Man, the Times and the recently released Being Indian, he will be writing the column Hyde Park Corner, exclusively for HindustanTimes.com)