A Punekar has developed what is probably the world’s first carrom board for the visually challenged. Madan Purandare, who tweaked a normal carrom board to create this special one, claims this is the first of its kind.

Purandare, who heads Advait Parivar an NGO that works to help people with physical disabilities, told MiD DAY, “I have verified it through various search engines on the Internet. If anybody has done it in the past, I am ready to take back my claim.”

He has started training the visually challenged and organises gatherings for them. “The gathering is mostly on weekends. “The blind people play carrom with remarkable enthusiasm,” said Purandare, adding, “The innovation is only a month old and I am happy to see its success with my blind friends.”

Reena Patil, a visually challenged student at Pune University, has been trained as a coach. “I am enjoying the game and can explain it to my friends,” she said.

The rules prescribed by the International Carrom Federation have been translated into Braille and the players are also being taught the theory of the game. “We are standardising the game, so that it can be played by the blind all over the world,” said Purandare.

He hopes to eventually organise carrom tournaments for the blind in Pune.

All the carrom boards are white, black and queen have special identification marks so that they can be differentiated by touch. The striker has a hook to make it easily identifiable.

The board has grooves to mark base lines, arrows half circles, etc. These help players judge position of the striker and distance to the carrom to calculate the force of the hit.

The grooves don’t obstruct the speed of the carrom on the board.

SOURCE : http://punekar.in/site/2008/11/24/carrom-board-for-the-visually-challenged-people/

To promote the international sport of carrom, the US Carrom Association was formed in 1995. The main aim of US Carrom Association is to develop a blooming carrom community in the United States and to make sure that US carom players take part in many international carrom tournaments and other events organized by the International Carrom Federation or other National Carrom Associations all around the globe.

The origins of carrom are obscure at best. Some say it was the invention of the Maharajahs of India, while many in India believe it may have been introduced by the British. Some books on international games include Burma, Egypt and Ethiopia as possible sources, all of which leads us to conclude that, at this time, no-one knows where carrom originated.

What we do know is that over the past century or so, carrom has become the regional pastime of the Indian subcontinent as well as all other countries where South Asians have migrated. Players often begin at home with family but carry it into their adult lives as a social activity or even to work as a break from the office routine.

Serious carrom tournaments may have begun in Sri Lanka in 1935 but by 1958, both India and Sri Lanka had formed official federations of carrom clubs, sponsoring tournaments and awarding prizes. Rankings of statewide teams in India began in 1956 and the first matches between national teams India v. Sri Lanka) occurred in the 1960s. Regional competitions have also taken place in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Malaysia, and the Republic of the Maldives.

With interest in Eastern culture growing among young Europeans during the 60s, carrom began appearing in homes and clubs. By the 1970s, commercial importation from India had begun and tournaments were being held in Switzerland, Germany and Holland. International competitions were already underway in Europe by 1980 and today, thousands of serious carrom players are spreading it’s popularity while boards are now being manufactured in Germany, Switzerland, Holland, and Italy.

The movement to form the International Carrom Federation gained momentum in the 1980s due to energetic promotion by Europeans and Asians alike. The first Carrom Congress was held in 1988 and their first tournament in 1989 with India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Germany, Switzerland & Holland competing for a silver cup. Probably the most important event in unifying carrom players around the world has been the codification of rules for tournament play by the ICF. Previously players from various countries played by different rules, making international competition impossible. With the creation of the Laws of Carrom teams from all the carrom-playing countries are now able to agree on rules and ‘International Standard’ carrom has been born. Regulations cover the dimensions of the board and playing pieces as well as every conceivable procedural question.

SOURCE : http://www.carrom.org/game/?subcat=10

As all of is are aware the carrom game is played on a board made of lacquered plywood, with a 29 inch (74 cm) square playing surface. The edges of the playing surface are bounded by thick wood, and the four corner slots of the board has net nets to hold the coins pocketed. The operation of the game is to strike or flick with a finger a comparatively heavy disk called a striker aimed at sending the lighter disks known as carrom-men into one of four corner pockets. The Carrom board is the most important accessory of the game and it can be compared to a playing field of any outdoor game. Carrom boards are available in various sizes as smaller boards and boards with larger pockets, are often used by beginners for easier gameplay.

The carrom-men are arranged at the start of a game in a particular fashion. Thecarrom-men are small disks uniform in size and designed to have a smooth movement on the surface of the carrom board when hit by a striker. The carrom-men come in two colors denoting the two opposite contenders. Traditionally, these colors are white and black. The beginner always plays white and the other party black. An additional, special carrom-man is in red color and called the queen.

The red queen is the most powerful carrom piece. It is placed at the center of the circle. If a player wins the board with the queen, this adds five 5 queen points to the player’s total score. A player has the right to pocket the queen and to cover it provided a carrom-man of the player’s own has already been pocketed. The size of the queen is the same as those of the other carrom-men.

High quality powder is used on the board to enable the pieces to slide easily. Carrom powder is sprinkled on the board’s surface to reduce friction, thereby enabling smoother and faster play. However, the powder most commonly used on th carrom board is boric powder. In certain European countries, the players use a version of spray powder used in the printing industry which has specific electrostatic properties and made from pure, food-grade vegetable starch. Essentially, there are two basic types of carrom powder. The traditional commonly available powder is boric and works quite well. There is a new type of super fine powder that comes in small plastic bottles, which is non-toxic and performs well. Since a very small quantity of this powder is needed to be applied each time, it is actually cost effective.

You must remember not to use two different types of powders simultaneously. If you wish to switch from one kind of powder to another, wipe off the old powder completely with a soft cloth before using the new type of powder. Carrom is a lively game full of fun, excitement and entertainment. It is universally appealing game and the charm is great in the game itself. Carrom is very easy to play and the rules of the game are simple and easy to follow. Carrom is known to many people and it is played in many countries.

SOURCE : http://www.outdoorsmegasite.com/?p=212

The game of carrom is an scientific as billiards. In many countries it is called ‘finger billiards’. It requires a very good knowledge of angles, keen sight, control of nerves and deep concentration. This indoor have various other names around the world, some of them are carrum, carum, karam, karum, karom and Indian or Nepalese finger billiards. Similar games like carrom are there all over Asia, like vindi vindi in Fiji and szhe szhe in Israel. Some variants make use of different objects instead of fashioned playing pieces, caps of the bottles are also used for games which is similar to carrom in Mexico and Java. Carrom is played in Philippines in the name of karambola and also as pool table.

The carrom, one of the most popular indoor games is said to be played in india for more then a century. According to an estimate more than 15 million people play this game in India. Once treated a pastime game limited to childrens and ladies, it is now being played at competitve level in a well organised manner.

SOURCE : http://pumerin.blogspot.com/2009/04/carrom-get-to-know-them-better.html