There is a popular saying that goes, ‘gamers don’t just have one life, but choose to have many’. Rohit Saju Varghese, 21, is one such gamer, whose life revolves around the joystick and game controller. Currently a student at Christ University, he started gaming at the age of 6. “When I used to visit my uncle’s house, I used to play the earlier version of the Road Rash video game, which was highly popular at that time,” he recalls.
He started to gain interest in online gaming, and soon shifted from Road Rash to games like the GTA series, Call of Duty etc. When he stayed in the US for a year, he was introduced to the XBOX and psvita. “I started playing more as all my classmates were into gaming, and I had to be at par with them during lunch hour conversations. Compared to India, they had more knowledge,” he says.
Returning to India, his addiction to gaming increased. “During class 10, I used to often bunk Math tuitions to visit a local gaming cafe. I used to spend around 8-10 hours of gaming daily,’ says Rohit.
He managed his expenses through savings he got from his grandfather. “The initial charges for gaming were less. They used to charge around `80-100 per hour.”
His gaming addiction had serious consequences on his career. Shortage of attendance and low grades necessitated that he had to repeat his class 10. “Losing a year of education was a huge deal for me as well as for my parents. From that time onwards, gaming was banned for me,” he says.
So has he stopped playing now? The reply is instant. “Once a gamer, always a gamer. I may have left the gaming world, but it didn’t leave me. Due to my busy schedule I don’t get time to play, but whenever I do, I go back to my favorites games — Uncharted 4 and Call of Duty. These days my favorite pastime is to watch videos of my favorite Youtube gamer Rat Brat, who uploads game plays.”
He feels he has gotten over his addiction now. “It’s good to be back at playing but being in control is a major challenge.”