My mother who is 90 years old and has dementia claims to be a Snakes & Ladders champion. On rainy nights when she can’t see the world from the window, mother challenges me to a game. I’m too old for indoor board games. Not even chess.
Snakes & Ladders was never a favourite house game when I was a youngster. A no-brainer. It requires no skill or intelligence. Just roll the dice. The toss determines whether your counter climbs a Ladder or falls several rows after being swallowed by a Snake.
This fun game is won by the first person to reach the 100th tile at the top. The package says the game is for 3+ year-olds. Mother is extremely competitive at 90. Because she is in her second childhood.
A nonagenarian with a rheumatic and ageing body and a young girl’s mind and behaviours. These nasty pranks are played by dementia. Mother’s mental sickness has brought back her faith in Angels and terror of the Bogeyman. She is obsessed with cutting out photos of actors, cricketers, and other attractive people from newspapers and arranging them under the centre table glass. She identifies them for me. I hate stopping her because she’s having fun. She also likes snakes and ladders.
I tried to introduce Mother to Ludo. Which is opposite the Snakes & Ladders board. But Ludo is strategy. It confuses and defeats her. After a while, she forgets the game rules and loses interest. With great sportsmanship, I agree to play Snakes & Ladders with her. Mother lies. And she hates losing. She throws the dice and discreetly hides its face. She only gets ladders. She won’t stop changing my counter.
Snakes. Not concerned. I remember friends who lost parents to dementia, Parkinson’s, or Alzheimer’s. They should have spent more time with their parents. Why lose in Snakes & Ladders if it makes my mother happy? Small things matter.
About Mark Manuel
The above thoughts/content have been proudly copied from the wall of Sir Mark Manuel. I am interviewing almost every role model in this country and getting stronger each day. Mark Manuel is a respected Mumbai editor, writer, and columnist.
With over three decades of journalism in leading publications. This includes the Free Press Journal, Times, Dainik Bhaskar, Mid-Day, and Afternoon. He is famous for his brilliant pen interviews. He himself is a TEDx speaker.
Further
His interviews have been featured in several leading media houses. They include the Hindustan Times, Huffington Post, BBC, and Network 18. Almost every famous person has been interviewed by him in the country from Mother Teresa to Muhammad Ali. His first book is just out. It’s titled Moryaa Re! It is a crime thriller that is perhaps the country’s first police procedural. He began his career covering crime. And in a tribute to his experience and knowledge of this beat.
Several distinguished officers of the Mumbai Police and its Crime Branch collaborated with him to make this book possible. Amitabh Bachchan wrote the forward in a statement of friendship for Mark Manuel and admiration for his work.
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