n South Mumbai’s Cuffe Parade, food blogger Arpana Punjabi traded her usual pre-Diwali card party for an intimate daytime gathering centred on Mahjong. Mahjong-themed cheese trolleys circled the room, while tile-inspired desserts lined the buffet. “Everyone enjoyed the festive vibe with something we now love—Mahjong,” she says. Across India, the traditional teen patti circle is slowly making way for the Chinese tile game, which is fast emerging as the season’s most coveted social pastime.
The appeal lies in the satisfying clatter of tiles, the thrill of building a winning hand and the strategy involved in anticipating an opponent’s next move. With phones set aside, players sharpen their memory and concentration while socialising around the table. But Mahjong is more than a cerebral pastime. It has become a lifestyle statement, offering an enticing mix of etiquette, exclusivity and intellectual stimulation.
Originating in China in the 1800s, near Shanghai, Mahjong travelled to India through British and Parsi trading circles before becoming a social fixture among Army wives. Noida-based Vineeta Sahni, the wife of a former Army serviceman, learnt the game by watching her mother and has been playing for nearly 30 years. Keen to preserve its traditional rules, she launched the Indian Mahjong Association. For her, the game is fun in an intelligent way.
Sangeeta Kewalramani, a former Bridge enthusiast who discovered Mahjong while playing with expatriate women 17 years ago, recalls feeling as though she had entered a secret society. Now a Mahjong coach, she calls the current wave a “happy epidemic with no cure to it”. She says, “People come for the game but stay for the energy around the table—even the silence in between.” She also sees Mahjong gradually replacing Rummy.
The game has its own choreography. Four players gather around 144 tiles, whose rhythmic clatter is known as the ‘twittering of sparrows’. Players draw and discard tiles to assemble winning combinations, culminating in the triumphant declaration, “Mahjong!” With more than 40 regional variations, from Taiwanese to American, the game offers plenty for newcomers to master.
In March 2025, Mumbai-based Kanika Vasudeva and Sheetal Patel launched Lets Mahjong to build a community around the game. They have witnessed a dramatic shift in perception. “Earlier, our friends would laugh and say, ‘Who will play this aunty game?’ But now, this has changed,” they recall. To give Mahjong a competitive edge, they organised the Indian Mahjong League and introduced ‘Mahjcation’, a three-day retreat in Goa where 36 participants played uninterrupted.
A game of four, Mahjong begins with a shuffle of the 144 tiles and flows as a series of picking and discarding tiles to build a winning hand. It ends when the winner declares—“Mahjong!” From Taiwanese to American, the game has over 40 unique regional versions.
The stereotype of Mahjong as a pastime for solitaire-clad housewives is also fading. Younger working women, men and children are joining the tables now. In Bengaluru, 55-year-old Suchender H took up the game because his wife wanted to play. “Being a three-hour-long game, it has attracted more homemakers and has become associated with them. I feel like the only man walking into Mahjong rooms, but I hope this changes quickly,” he laughs.
The trend is spreading beyond the metros. In Bhopal, dentist Smriti Datta Anand was drawn to Mahjong’s etiquette, “especially the manner of stacking the tiles”, and introduced the game to her friends in June. In Amritsar, hotelier Shivani Sharma and jeweller Drishti Mishra Khurana founded the Amritsar Mahjong Circle. The community is now introducing the game to desitination weddings for recreation.
The game is increasingly being marketed as an experience. At The Quorum, The Mahjong Network’s Diwali gathering began with a face-elixir treatment before players sat down to play. Co-founder Ria Bajaj believes the game has filled a social gap. She also sees a life lesson in its strategy: “Mahjong teaches you to play the hand you get, and that’s like life—making the best of what you get.”
The stereotype of Mahjong as a pastime for solitaire-clad housewives is fading. Younger working women, men and children are joining the tables now
Luxury brands have also joined the game, with Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Gaurav Gupta recently launching collectible Mahjong sets. Indian manufacturer Mojo Mahjong has introduced ‘Aquajong’, a floating set priced at `13,500 for poolside play.
Dedicated Mahjong spaces are emerging, too. Mumbai’s 1 BAM in Khar and Delhi’s Avalon Mahjong Club on MG Road charge `500–`1,000 for a game and beverages. In Pune, Pan-Asian restaurant Eight has created a dedicated space for the game. However, the game’s growing popularity has sparked a debate about authenticity. Sahni believes the trend has “corrupted” the game. “New players are not playing the authentic game but much easier versions.”
In an age of digital distractions, Mahjong’s enduring appeal is simple: the pleasure of gathering around a table, learning a skill and finding a community, one tile at a time.