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There are dice and dice; and of course, there are men and men. But men seem to change when they hold dice in their hands. Or else, as some believe, the history of India - at least a great epic of ours - might have turned out differently, considering how much came to hinge on that one fateful game of dice that was played in the Mahabharata. One knows the story well: the eldest of the Pandava brothers, Yudhishthira, sitting down to play a game of chaupar with Duryodhana, the Kaurava Prince, and then losing everything to him: his kingdom, all his worldly possessions, himself and his brothers, even Draupadi, their consort. All through the sleight of hand of Shakuni, Duryodhana’s uncle, who threw the dice on his nephew’s behalf, but knew how to manipulate them.

Dyuta, gambling in other words, is the vice that sacred texts warn everyone against, and dice figure in nearly all those gambling games. And yet gods and heroes keep playing in our myths, There are references in the Bhagavata Purana to them - the fury that Balarama unleashed upon some kings over a dishonest game, for instance - the prince Nala loses his kingdom in a game of dice in the celebrated story of Nala and Damayanti; Parvati jokingly accuses Shiva of cheating as the divine couple settle down to play a game of dice; Krishna and Rukmini pit their wits against each other over a dice game on the Diwali night. And so on.

There are dice everywhere in India, it appears - made, one might add, of an astonishing range of materials: terracotta, ivory, glass, marble, wood, bone, metal, for instance; and they go as far back as the Harappan times, if the evidence of archaeology were to be trusted.

The little objects, stick-like or cube-form or cylindrical in shape, are associated most often however with the game of chaupar, known by its different names like chausar, paasa, pachisi. And myths and stories apart, there are all those absorbing historical references to the game that is often spoken of, at least by western writers, as the “national board game of India”. Abul Fazl, untiring chronicler at the court of Akbar, described it in detail, but opened his account by saying: “From times of old, the people of Hindustan have been fond of this game.” The emperor himself apparently grew fond of it, and at Fatehpur Sikri the guides point out the enormous courtyard which served once as the cruciform chaupar board on which, according to tradition, maidens from the Imperial harem, dressed in different colours, used to be stationed and moved like gotis following the throw of dice. Chaupar or pachisi boards are ordinarily made of cloth, with four arms, embroidered or otherwise, attached to the sides of a central square. But here, at the Imperial court, everything was different, and grander in scale. And here, it was undoubtedly a game of great skill: wits were matched; wagers were laid; and the opponents could be wily and cunning. The Emperor himself apart, according to Abul Fazl, formerly “many grandees took part in this game: there were often as many as 200 players, and no one was allowed to go home before he had finished 16 games, which in some cases lasted three months; if any of them lost patience and got restless, he had to drink a cup of wine….” The Mughal chronicler’s account of the game, as played at the court is long, and gets to be very technical, for he goes into elaborate details of dice and rules and moves many of which had their own names. Thus, “if the throws of two players are the same as the throw of the preceding players, His Majesty counts them as qayim or standing. . . If the four pieces of an opponent are pukhta, and yet he loses his’ bet, the other payers are entitled to double the amount of the bet.” And so on. This is not the place to talk about the intricacies of the game, or to go into the rules of chaupar or pachisi, but surely there must have been variations of all these moves, or at least of the terms used, for the game was played everywhere, and by people of all ranks and extractions.

One sees, citing the evidence of paintings alone, a raja like Jagat Singh of Mewar playing chaupar with a royal opponent; Bishan Singh of Guler seated with an ‘adversary’ over a game of chaupar, contemplating his next move; the gifted and innovative ruler of Mysore, Krishnaraj Wodeyar, at play, using a new board of his own invention. One also reads of hardcore players among common people who would keep the cloth board rolled up in their pagris, for spreading it out at a moment’s notice. In the midst of all this, however, there are things one notices.

Some exquisite chaupar boards, made of velvet and silk and zari, have survived, as have the gotis - pawns one can call them perhaps - which appear to have been crafted with great skill and affection. And whenever one sees a chaupar board rendered in painting, the painter takes extraordinary care in rendering it with accuracy, bringing in all 24 squares on each arm of the board, leaving the large central or twenty-fifth square - hence, incidentally, the name pachisi, after which the American board game, Parcheesi, was named prominently bare. In the paintings, one can also see who is winning, and who is on the losing side, judging from the coins, or cowries, that lie piled up in front of the players. The saint-poet Kabir, in his inimitable manner, however, saw no loser in the game of love that a devotee can play with God.

Tana mana dhana baaji laage ho
Chaupar khel peev se re
To son baaji laagi
haari to piya ki bhayee re
 jeeti to piya more ho….

(Body, Mind, Wealth are all at stake
To play the game of dice with my love
I have staked my all
My love wins me if I lose
If I win, he becomes mine….)

NEW YEAR’S EVE: All around the world people celebrate the coming of a new year and time with traditions from their country: Although the celebrations are not always held on the same day; they often include traditions of religious celebrations, costume parties, parades and with customs said to bring good luck and fortune in the new year.

ECUADOR - In South America “Ano Viejo” is celebrated by creating a fake person or dummy. The scarecrow-looking person will be completely dressed and stuffed with old newspapers and firecrackers. The dummy is usually placed outside the home. He represents something that happened during the last year. At midnight each family lights the dummy on fire. As the dummy goes up in smoke, the firecrackers also go off to add to the festivities. The old year is forgotten and the new year begins.

GREECE - In Greece, St. Basil fills the children’s shoes with presents at midnight.

DENMARK - It is a good sign to find your door littered with a pile of broken dishes at New Years. Old dishes are saved all year to throw them at the homes where their friends live on New Year’s Eve. Many broken dishes were a symbol that you have many friends!

JAPAN - People in Japan spend weeks planning for their New Year celebrations. They buy special food and make decorations for their front doors out of pine branches, bamboo, and ropes that are believed to bring health and long life. Fan ropes are also hung over the doors and roofs with seaweed or ferns to bring them happiness and good luck. Children receive “otoshidamas” which are small gifts with money inside. They also send New Year cards to their friends and hold forgetting-year parties to say goodbye to the old year. The Japanese also forgive friends and family for any misunderstandings and disagreements they may have had that year so they can make a clean start of the New Year. On December 31st, bells are rung 108 times to chase away 108 troubles. The people all laugh after the gongs because laughter will drive away the bad spirits. With all the bad spirits gone and troubles and enemies forgiven, they enjoy a day of celebration.

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS:

One new year tradition is the making of New Year’s resolutions. That tradition dates back to the early Babylonians. The early Babylonian’s most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment. Popular modern resolutions include promises to lose weight or quit smoking.

NEW YEAR’S PARADES:

In the United States, one of the most famous parades is the Tournament of Roses where the floats are all decorated with flowers. The parade dates back to 1886 when members of the Valley Hunt Club decorated their carriages with flowers. It celebrated the ripening of the orange crop in California. .

New years is celebrated in many countries with a parade. After spending many months creating colorful costumes, the Junkanoo parade is held in the Bahamas where thousands of people celebrate in the New Year’s Festival. Prizes are given to the best, the strangest, or the most beautiful costumes.

In Nepal there is a four day parade during the New Year celebration and in Greece people carry figures of apples, ships and stars.

In Syria and Lebanon children parade door to door as well.

Thailand’s parade is led by an honored woman and people march to the beat of drums and gongs.

Dragons, elephants, buffalos and giants are popular parade costumes there.

In Oberammergau, West Germany, the parade is very long and the parade leader carries a tall pole with a star on the top. He sings songs about the past year and dance to a band.

WHAT  IS HAPPENING IN WEST BENGAL?
LEFT:  Right at the end of nuclear deal.
BUDDHA: Defending the indefensible.

There is now reason to believe that the India-US civil nuclear deal can indeed be saved. The Left parties, which have been vehemently opposing the deal on the ground that it would bring asunder the country’s sovereignty, have mellowed in the sense that they have agreed to let the government start negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency India-specific safeguards.

Such talks are a prelude to operationalising the deal which the Left parties have been opposing. In fact, at one point they had warned that any such step would jeopardize the stability of the UPA government. Seen against this backdrop, the new stance of the Left that it would not oppose the talks with the IAEA is certainly a forward movement.

This follows the word given by the government that it would not finalize any agreement with the IAEA till the UPA-Left joint panel gives its green signal. A clearer picture will emerge only after the joint panel holds its meeting. The Left melt down has not come about all of a sudden. Despite their public posture, there are differences of opinion in the Left parties about the nuclear deal. Not all sections in these parties share CPM leader Prakash Karat’s view that any truck with the US is dangerous.

They also realize that nuclear energy has to be tapped to meet the growing needs of the economy. Every world leader who has had an interaction with the Indian leaders in the recent past, the last being Russian President Vladimir Putin has been advising them to operationalise the deal. Public opinion has also been growing in favor of the deal, something the Left leaders can only ill afford to ignore.

On the political front, the BJP does not subscribe to the Left position. Its opposition to the deal is mainly on the ground that the government had not been taking it into confidence. Better late than never, the Manmohan Singh government has tried to explain to the BJP leaders that India’s Programme to develop the strategic deterrent has not been compromised by the deal.

This has helped. The interactions the US Ambassador to India and the former US Secretary of State, Dr Henry Kissinger, had with the BJP leaders also suggest that the party can be persuaded to be more accommodative on the nuclear deal. In other words, it would have dawned on the Left leaders that their argument that the majority in Parliament did not support the deal did no longer hold water. Whatever be the Left’s compulsions, its second thoughts bode well for the UPA government.

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s statement defending the carnage perpetrated by the CPM cadres in Nandigrarn is wholly irresponsible. He has taken the oath of office and secrecy not only to serve every citizen without any ill will or malice but also to protect the Constitution. Having maintained that the activists of the Bhoomi Uchched Pratirodh Committee have been "paid back in the same coin" in retaliation to what happened on March 14, he has glossed over his own government’s failure to save the hapless people from the wrath of the Marxist cadres. Worse, his statement on the horrendous episode makes him vulnerable to the charge of willfully violating his constitutional responsibilities and allowing armed gangs to hijack the administration’s work. If a chief minister himself defends the bloody recapture of Nandigrarn, what kind of message will it send to those down the line - officials and party cadres?
Moreover, a chief minister, far from approving of violence of any kind, is expected to strive as an arbiter between two rival sections and resolve the conflict amicably. Unfortunately, he has done precious little to restore normalcy in Nandigram during the past few months.

Similarly, Mr. Bhattacharjee’s argument that he did not use force in Nandigram to avoid a "repetition" of March 14 is as flawed and unconvincing as his charge that the Centre had failed to send CRPF jawans in time. He is just passing the buck to the Centre to cover up his own failure. Reports suggest that the state police are not giving a free hand to the CRPF.

While the government and the ruling CPM claim of Maoist presence in Nandigram, home secretary P.R. Roy thinks otherwise. The people are entitled to know who is speaking the truth. Meanwhile, reports that the CRPF has stumbled upon some landmines and guns at Sonachura in Nandigram suggest the presence of Maoists in the region because these were the type of weapons generally used by the Maoists of Purulia