street carom match

Fifty boys and old men gather around a carom board in the middle of a lane in Badda-para. The rat-a-tat epic carom battle rages on- rat-a-tat, tat-a-tat. Fistful of chalk dust is scattered on the board and the wooden counters slide across the slippery-as- ice board and crash with a deafening roar from the crowd applauding an impressive shot and hooting at bad misses. The street carom champion with a sniper’s aim is a shaking, bearded old man with bony lightning fingers and cataract grey eyes; his hands and face clouded with chalk dust and his face smeared with a child’s toothless grin.