HANGZHOU: They belong to different generations. One predates independent India, the other born in the new millennium. Both come from opposite social and cultural backgrounds. Their hobbies, taste for food and liking to songs are different. One likes to hear ghazals and Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi’s songs, the other peppy Bollywood music. But it’s the beautiful game of bridge which has helped Bharati Dey, 77, and Vidhya Patel, 21, ‘bridge’ the generational gap between them.
Vidhya wasn’t even born when Bharati was establishing herself as the country’s leading bridge player on the international circuit. At the Hangzhou Asian Games, the two have been spearheading the country’s campaign in the sport in the women’s team event. Bharati is the oldest member in the 655-member strong Indian contingent which is participating at the Asiad, while 12 of other teammates are above 60. Vidhya is the baby of the bridge squad. Bharati had played in Jakarta 2018 as well, but at that time, she wasn’t the oldest. Her teammate, Vasanth Shah, held the record at 77 years.
