Most spiffy South Mumbai clubs have serpentine waitlists for membership. Now there is another waiting list within that list—The Mahjong waitlist, which is many tiles long. Mahjong is a tile game played by four players, believed to have developed in 19th century China. There are some regional variations too, such as the online American version. Largely though, the Asian Mahjong version is played in our clubs.

The game has been played by some for years, but lately it has zoomed up the popularity charts like a song on steroids. Bridge ace Hema Deora, who started learning four months ago, says, “Mahjong has gone viral not online but offline. We now have waiting lines at Mumbai clubs for those who want to learn it.” Mahjong’s “technique, skill requirement and use of memory” is what makes it mentally stimulating for her. “There are Mahjong lessons at clubs and many are learning at home too, with teachers visiting for lessons,” says Deora, “My Mahjong journey began with what killed the cat—curiosity. I was driven to learn as I was simply curious to know what the game was all about. I am still learning. It is evident that the game keeps the grey cells ticking.”