Carroms is a cross between pool and marbles. I had only ever seen this game played by relatives, in Perth, until I saw a photo in a Lonely Planet guide. I decided that, while in India, I was going to find myself some Carrom players. And I did – the above photo was taken in Darjeeling, near a butcher, on a street leading away from the town square (“Chowrasta”).
To begin play, the disks, called carrommen, are set up in the middle of the board. A heavier disk, called the striker, is analogous to a cue ball. Each player has nine carrommen, and the goal is to use the striker to bounce each of your carrommen into the holes at the corners of the board, before your opponent can pocket theirs. The striker is flicked, like in marbles.
Just before getting in your last carromman, you must strike a red disk (the “Queen”) in, and “cover” it by pocketing that last carromman on the same strike, or straight after.
Some of the folk in the photo were playing for small money, for extra motivation – but it all seemed like a friendly way to pass time on a grey afternoon.
Here’s another game in McLeod Ganj!
Wheels World 