S-c-r-a-b-b-l-e
A truly engaging game. Take our word for
it.
Ma, Ma, Mi, Ya. These words, along with 118 others,
are part of the 122 two-lettered words listed in
the Official Scrabble Playing Dictionary. In fact,
the enthusiastic members of the city's Zygo
Scrabble Club swear by not four letter words,
but by two and three letter ones!  After
all, these intriguing words have helped them notch
up some great points and even settle some friendly
scores.
It all began when friends Manju Pai and Neena Shahani
discovered their shared passion for the game. Many
an afternoon was spent engaged in playing this popular
word building board game. The duo even went to Mumbai
to participate in a scrabble contest. "We went
ahead just for a lark. We hadn't heard of scrabble
contests before and were curious to know more. What's
more, we didn't fare too badly either," says
Manju with a laugh. The experience was, in Manju's
words phenomenal.
The contest was organised by Zygo Club, Mumbai,
which is a part of the Zygo Scrabble Clubs that
exist worldwide. It was here that they met Mr.
V R Darmaraj, founder of Zygo Club, Hyderabad,
the first in the country. It was Mr. Darmaraj who
coaxed them to start one in Pune. That was in
December 1997.
A little unsure of how the city would react to a
scrabble club, they decided to hold a scrabble tournament
to check the response. Boy! Were they in for a pleasant
surprise! The city had more than its share of scrabble
enthusiasts and in June 1998, Zygo Club Pune was
launched. Every Tuesday evening, members meet in
the anteroom of the Pune Club to check out whose
vocabulary is the strongest. "As everyone comes
with a vocabulary of their own, each encounter is
 an
enriching experience," explains Nina.
"In fact, after a game, it's interesting to
check out the Board. One is bound to come across
some unusual words," chips in Manju. Tuesday
evenings are much looked forward to by the eclectic
group of 60-odd diehard scrabble fans. "The
game brings out the killer instinct in me and I
do not even have to kill," says Dr John Kurien
gleefully while successfully attempting a bingo
with the seven letter word 'slavers'. Just
about anybody interested in words are welcome to
join. One does not have to be a champ, so a novice
need not have any reservations about signing up.
Manju and Nina plan to introduce scrabble in schools
and conduct inter-school competitions and continue
drawing more members to the Club.
Given their enthusiasm and commitment to the game,
they are sure to draw many more like-minded citizens.
For more information, Manju Pai can be contacted
on 565 3953
Shabari Shetty
Photographs by Harikrishna |
