Mehr Marfatia: 'Monsoon gambling' has existed in India since the 1800s

THEY were simply spoton Predictions about the first rain this season pegged the expected date for June 1 mdash when sure enough the heavens broke In the context of such conjecture the same premonsoon newspaper ad frontpaged for 30 years kept the public waiting and watching the countdown to MRF Rain Day showed the tyre companyrsquos muscled mascot Herculeslike hoisting high a dark cloudBased on tales narrated by his father Manilal Shah Chira Bazaar resident Dilip Shah 75 pins 1886 as the beginning of barsaat ka satta PicShadab KhanA hundred years before that very visible campaign 1880s Bombay was already powered by its own elaborately organised monsoon gambling system dubbed barsaat ka satta Surprisingly far from innocent the city was no stranger to burglary fraud opium smuggling and local addictions this satta among the most popularMumbadevi Street photographed by Raja Deen Dayal in the late 1880s derived its name from the temple of the goddess MumbadeviAn account in A Biographical Sketch of Sardar Mir Abdul Ali chronicling the life of that distinguished Head of Detective Police mentions the hub of operations ldquoin the heart of the native town near Mumbadevi Tankrdquo Desperation drove gamblers to take risks with impunity under the gaze of the Koli fishing communityrsquos patron goddess Mumba Devi worshipped at Mumbadevi Temple on a bank of the tank in KalbadeviWhich was relocated here in the 18th century from its original site near Bori Bunder Pic Courtesy Bombay the Cities Within Eminence Designs Pvt LtdAccording to Acharya and Shingnersquos 1889 work Mumbaicha Vruttant business boomed from a special house behind Mumbadevi Tank till 130 stalls sprang up to cope with thronging customers A clerk in each registered bets made by a partner in trade with people coming in Books were actually available too as at horse racesFor four full monsoon months the hooked spent hours atop roofs studying patterns of gathered clouds to figure when exactly they could burst Speculation peaked with the shift and drift of Nimbus forms When these clouds hung low betting became bolder A man perhaps declared ldquoItrsquos 3 orsquoclock it will rain before halfpast threerdquo another added ldquoRain should drop between halfpast three and 4 orsquoclockrdquo and so on The game included picturesquely precise details like whether thunder and lightning would accompany a downpour Besides gauging how clouds hover gale guessing relied on the knowledge of the natural world mdash winds tides moon phases and typical behaviour of insects birds and animals just before rainFine collective intelligence created unique instruments to test and record the observations of these human weather vanes Accurate appliances indicated the volume of rain with the experts quite particular as to what constituted a fall The Calcutta lsquomorirsquo form of satta used the device of a sandfilled box in the open Water cascading within a prescribed time in excess of a marked limit seeped out from a tiny tap It had to in a steady stream no matter how slowly or briefly This proving a difficult decision an appointed referee gave his final verdict The privilege was assigned to the proprietor of the shed housing a stall the lessee had no voiceThe ldquolakdirdquo satta assumed larger proportions with an entire portion of a terrace blocked off On four posts with a firm foundation rested a masonry structure with a flat smooth surface Near one end was a cupshaped hollow in the stone from where a tube led over the edge of the ldquotablerdquo Water on the stone wound a path into the cup and from the tube to the ground This avoided arguments otherwise the few drops of a passing drizzle were disputed The basic rule was that water must run from the tube merely dropped it meant nothing to noteThe satta saga described by one who has the story from close quarters is unbeatable The wettest evening finds me sipping some cutting masala chai only a Gujarati kitchen brews best Irsquom all ears as 75yearold Chira Bazaar resident Dilip Shah and his hospitable wife Renuka share tales told by his father Manilal Retired from an almost centuryold shop on adjacent Princess Street Laxmi Medical once Madras Leather Works Dilipbhai pins 1886 as the beginning of barsaat ka satta Peering down from a window seat of his flat in the sole tower that dwarfs the crowded squathomed lane pelted by rain he says ldquoThough those first forecasters had worse weather thanks to the British drainage system our narrowest gullies didnrsquot flood Water collecting up to 150 inches never overflowedrdquoWhat did overflow was the money lining the satta playersrsquo pockets Bets ranged from a rupee to a thousand stakes soaring as the habit flourished An estimated 20000 rupees changed hands on a single day of heavy showers Gambling stall owners pocketed tidy commissions despite hefty fines imposed by CP Cooper Chief Presidency MagistrateOld residents smile recalling the madness excitement and consternation whipped up by this activity Overcast skies spelt nonstop natter Drivers leaned out of Stearns and Kittredgebuilt trams clanging their noisy way along Kalbadevi and Girgaum to exchange tips on signs sniffed of a cyclonic storm Men trooped in from mofussil corners of the country ldquoto gamble with the cloudsrdquo as they cockily announced to fellow travellers en routeIt was hardly idle layabouts alone who were ensnared The capital market controlled by the influential Shroffs their hundis were a kind of draft honoured across India these men virtually functioned as private banks They were distinct from moneylender Sarafs who dealt with clients on a smaller scale Both Shroffs and Sarafs slacked off under the satta spellldquoBombay was the hotbed of speculators and gamblers and the harm they did to the city was simply incalculablerdquo states the stern text of the Mir Abdul Ali book ldquoServants gave up their callings merchants deserted their trade to pursue this vice the cause of ruin of many a family The place had the appearance of an annual fair a tamasha This gambling was not conducted fairly the consequence frequently a fight and serious assault on one or other of the parties concernedrdquoNo wonder vexed Raj officials grew more distressed by the day at the wild goingson The malaise they countered was intoxicating for its boisterous players always long strides ahead After raiding gamblersrsquo dens in Chembur ldquovillagerdquo it was hoped the Act of 1887 would curb this social menace Denying defying the addicts argued their indulgence was on account of business being less brisk from July to Diwali Sir Raymond West judicial member in Lord Reayrsquos government pronounced gloomily ldquoThe ingenuity of a certain class of gamblers found means of evading the lawrdquoEven in those times overworked and underpaid constables called ldquotukdiwalasrdquo for accepting bribes bore the brunt of patrolling Bombayrsquos diverse and burgeoning population Interestingly the Thagi and Dakaiti division of the Indian police which laid the foundation for the Criminal Investigation Department preceded Scotland YardShowers still lash their lane as I leave the Shahs Dilipbhai points out the neighbouring church is the earliest in this area mdash Our Lady of Good Health Cavel has stood for 150 years the Portuguese converted several Kolis of Cavel in northeast Dhobi Talao to Christianity Casting her eyes further over the panoramic sweep seen from their living room Renukaben offers a lively vignette about Mumbadevi tank in the distance Before it got filled the waters revealed hidden loot possibly flung in by clever fleeing thieves mdash the dagina jewel market of Zaveri Bazaar located right behind It is said there were coins gold little locketshellip And dare we think soggy bits of a betting book or twoAuthorpublisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay You can reach her at mehermarfatiagmailcom