Building word power

Do you know the meaning of Ka? What about Za? These are some new words I picked up from a group of children engrossed in a game of Scrabble at the Children’s Park at the State Central Library.

“I scored a Bingo for the word ‘Seclude’ today; that word got me 74 points on the board,” says Deva Nandan P., a student of Infant Jesus Convent ISC School, looking as pleased as punch.

Deva Nandan is one of the participants of a Scrabble training session organised by the State Central Library and Kerala Scrabble Club.

The Scrabble training session is the brainchild of Unnikrishna Panicker, a former judicial member of the Permanent Lok Adalat. An ardent Scrabbler, Unnikrishna says: “Although I had heard of Scrabble in my childhood, I never really played it. It was while working in West Asia that I started getting hooked to the game as a friend of mine would hold a Scrabble night every Thursday.”

Upon his return to the city, the 64-year-old started to seek fellow Scrabblers. “I did try playing online but it did not give me the same satisfaction I get while playing face-to-face.”

Members of Kerala Scrabble Club in a game of Scrabble   | Photo Credit: Liza George

When asked to address participants at a summer camp at the Central Library in 2015, he decided to speak on Scrabble. “I was hoping the children would express an interest to learn the game. No one came up though.”

He held a Scrabble Tournament in 2016 in which 40 students participated. He then organised a training session in Scrabble for students at University College. “Only 10 students responded to the advertisement I placed for the training programme.”

The advertisement did however catch the eye of a few “senior citizens”. Says Unnikrishna: “They wanted to know if the sessions were open to only children.” Discovering that they were fellow Scrabble buffs, Unnikrishna formed Kerala Scrabble Club.

The members of the Scrabble Club are Dr. Thomas Abraham and his wife, Rani, Dr. Aby Philip and his wife, Shoba, and Remani Mathai. “Coincidently, all of us are senior citizens, and most of us are leading retired lives. The late George Mathai, Remani’s husband, was our oldest member. He was 86 when he passed away in February this year,” says Unnikrishna. The group meets every Friday evening at a member’s house. “Not only is the weekly meet a way for us to get together and socialise, the game helps us keep our minds agile,” says Sobha.

Besides seeking to expand its number of members, the Club also hopes to inculcate in children a love for Scrabble. “Children these days are hooked to electronic gadgets, be it the idiot box or the mobile phone. As they are glued to their gadgets, they don’t step out for some fresh air or play with their friends,” she says.

The members of the Kerala Scrabble Club hold training sessions for children aged 10 and above at the Kerala Library Children’s Park every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The participants have to be either members of the Library or have a parent who is. “Twenty students have registered so far and we have divided the participants into three time slots in the evening. The course will be on throughout the summer holidays,” says Unnikrishna.

According to the Scrabble trainers, most of the participants have limited English vocabulary skills. Rohann Subhash says he is busy perusing the dictionary these days. “Some of the words used by the other players and trainers are new to me so I look up their meaning,” he says. A student at Saraswathy Vidyalaya, Rohann, who is fond of puzzles, says he finds Scrabble similar to a puzzle board. “You use alphabet tiles to build words or use them to fill slots to make a new one; it’s both challenging and fun,” says Rohann. Pooja Chandran G., a student of Zenana Public School, although stumped for words when she receives the alphabet ‘Z’, says she is able to hold her own while playing with her elder sister Devika. “I have learnt a whole lot of new words and constantly beat her in Scrabble,” she says, with a grin. Her school mates Avantika Tarun and Anushka Tarun are hooked to the game too.

Children engrossed in a game of Scrabble   | Photo Credit: Liza George

Curiosity is what drew Deva Nandan to the Scrabble class. “All I knew was that it is a word game. I love games that challenge the mind so the game is just right up my alley. I like how we are trained to place words in such a way that we get maximum score. I have learnt several two and three letter words over the last few days; it’s enabled me to win.”

Scrabble is a great way to spend quality time with family and friends too. In fact, the game has become a daily routine with Rohann. “I bring the board out when my dad gets back from work. He finds the game addictive too.”

Unnikrishna says after training the students in the basics and the rules of Scrabble, the Kerala Scrabble Club hopes to hold a Scrabble tournament. “We are also looking for a proper space for us to continue similar training sessions for children. We hope to build up a community of Scrabblers. Adults are welcome too.”

By the way, for those dusting the dictionary but can’t find the meanings of Ka and Za, Ka means spirit of soul and Za is a slang for pizza.

(A close encounter with people and places in Thiruvananthapuram)