Bridge in Coonoor

Coonoor is a beautiful hill station located about 2 hours away from Coimbatore Airport. Probably, a better way to describe its location is that you will arrive here half an hour before you reach Ooty from the Airport. Far less known than the latter, the serenity of this place has to be experienced to be believed.

You may ask what a 'travelogue' is doing on a bridge web site. Coonoor, via the Nilgiri Bridge Association, has been hosting at least one major annual tournament in the South Zone prior to the pandemic. Even during the pandemic, it was one of the most active bridge clubs, conducting events several times a week.

The driving force behind the bridge activity these days is Captain Ravi Kumar Manian. He has been conducting events virtually as a labor of love. The friendly spirit of all the club members makes it a beautiful event to participate online. It is no wonder that their membership has more than doubled over the past few months!

Recently, the NBA has resumed Face to Face events. I was fortunate enough to witness one of them (I unfortunately arrived in Coonoor to late to participate). They had about 6 tables with participants ranging from age 35 to 90+ enjoying themselves in a friendly tournament.

On the left, you can see a panoramic view of the event in progress. There was one more table just behind the photographer.

On the right, you can see Captain Manian turning his back to the photographer as he focuses on his charming opponents and partner (along with the bidding in progress). His opponents, Deepa Jacob and Sharon had performed strongly at the National Ladies Championships conducted by the BFI.

You can also see here one table which features a 91 year old Dr. Nalin Parikh in action. His level of activity would put many of us to shame. Oftentimes, after an evening of bridge at the Coonoor Club, he is happy to visit Ooty for dinner before returning home to retire.

Other luminaries of the club include a General, a Brigadier, an Air Vice Marshal who all come for a lovely evening of bridge every Sunday when feasible.

A few of the players were kind enough to spend some time with me in the evening after the game. The general friendliness and the bonhomie of the people, and their hospitality, was truly amazing!

We wish the Nilgiri Bridge Association and their members even more happy hours of bridging.