Bridge Life Past Present and Future

What is your name?

Prakash

What are your nicknames in bridge community?

Panja

Where are you from?

Konkan – Mumbai – London

Where do play bridge mostly? Are you a full time professional?

Net. Yes in the sense that I spend (a lot of time and money) in training and
professional development. No in the sense that I cannot make a living out of it
nor can I afford to play events that I would like to play.

Do you have a regular bridge partner/team?

Vivek Bhand. Jayesh Goyal.
DEMICOMA (sys)team.

When, Where and How do you practice with your partner/team?

net.

When, Where and How did you start playing bridge?

Mumbai IIT. Hostel team needed a fourth player. I was playing an open chess
event in the city. On the rest day, learnt bridge and played a 32-board match
straightaway.

Any interesting/funny stories about early bridge career?

Mu.

Which places have you lived and played bridge in?

Mumbai. India. England.
Net.

What was your first major win? What do you remember about that?

None seems Major now.

When did you start getting noticed? When did you start thinking about winning national championship or playing for India?

 Don’t
know the first part. As for the second question, from the world go. I remember
Khubchandani talking about Bermuda Bowl way back in late 79's. Most IITian
bridge players of late 70's (I guess) had/have high aims in bridge.

What is the future of your bridge career? What do you want to achieve?

I am unable to guess. I would like to see more people play DEMICOMA, which I
believe is one of the most natural systems, considering the structure of bridge
scoring.

Thoughts on Indian Bridge

What are general comments on status of bridge in India?

Jaggy lives in Mumbai, yet does not play much bridge in India. That essentially
tells us all about the status of bridge in India.

What do you think of major tournaments in India?

They are ok.

How can we promote bridge in India?

Have a proper rating system for players. Let the market forces
prevail. That way sponsors will get value for their money, and
players will get proper rewards for their efforts. At present, it is
an imperfect market.

How do you compare Indian bridge to rest of world?

 A
little more competitive even at club level. At the top level, it becomes a
little more social though.

How can we do better in International competitions?

 India
should have 5 teams, one for each zone (N E S W and central) representing her.
Sadly, in spite of a huge membership, India has little say in Zone 4, or at the
world organization level.

Personal

Would you like to share any information about your family members? Does anyone else play bridge?

Shubhada. Daughter Arnika, and Son Vivasvan. None of them play bridge.

What are your hobbies? What do you do in your free time?

Think. I indulge in my
hobby even at work.

Where did you study? Where did you work?

 IIT Mumbai.
Chemical Engineering.

Interesting Trivia