An Afghan Refugee Has Found Home in a Game of Chess With Delhiites

Since Samad arrived in India in 2014, he’s been playing chess with anyone who wishes to join him near Palika Bazaar.

Samad, also fondly known as Afghan Chacha, was a resident of Jalalabad of Nangarhar province in Afghanistan.

(Photo Courtesy: Aftab Shaikh and Zirak Fahem)

An Afghan refugee in India has been discarded from the only place he derives happiness from. The reason? His love for chess.

His humble personality and his sharp understanding of the game attracts hundreds of people who watch, and even join him, in playing chess outside the main gate of underground Palika Bazaar in Connaught Place.

Watching a game of chess being played by passersby.

From Jalalabad in Afghanistan to Palika Bazaar in the heart of Delhi, 58-year-old Abdul Samad has come a long way with his chess board in his bag. Although he has temporarily made a concrete block inside the central park of Connaught Place his new den, Samad misses being the master of the game as only a few people now turn up for a match inside the park.

Abdul Samad, a 58-year-old Afghan refugee with a love for chess.

Once again, I feel like a refugee who has been thrown out of a place where he belongs. I am losing the appreciation from different people who motivated me and kept me happy in this unknown city.

Samad

Samad observing moves being made by the players.

Samad was told not to play chess in the area by the local police as large crowds started gathering outside the market near the metro gate. “Police said that large crowds will lead to unwanted incidents,” he added.

“Chess makes me happy despite being away from my family,” says Afghan Chacha.

Samad wants to get back to his daily routine soon though.

Around 11 in the morning, he used to arrange three boards on the tables outside the underground market’s main gate till 9 pm and was game to play against anyone who volunteered. He misses the throng of spectators that would gather around the chess board.

Afghan Chacha’s chess playing abilities have made him a local celebrity.

“It is not just the game, but the spectators and the crowd which makes me happy,” he added.

Samad, also fondly known as Afghan Chacha, was a resident of Jalalabad of Nangarhar province. After the fall of pro-Soviet ‘Democratic Republic of Afghanistan’ (DRA) and the rise of Mujahideen rule in Afghanistan in 1989, Samad fled with some of his family members to Pakistan.

After travelling back and forth between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Samad finally arrived in India in 2014. Since his arrival in India, he has been living in a rented room in Ashram, near Lajpat Nagar and has been playing chess across Delhi.

“It is not just the game, but the spectators and the crowd which make me happy,” Samad said.

People often ask me whether they have to pay entry fees to play with me; I smile and invite them to play. It is not a source of making money for me, but just a way to make myself happy despite being away from my family.

Samad

Samad’s sons are still in Afghanistan, while his daughter, sister and mother are now in the US.

Local police told Samad not to play chess outside Palika Bazaar due to the large crowd gathering near the metro gate.

Last week, a number of newspapers and news portals published articles about Afghan Chacha – all of which amplified his popularity in the area. He believes this contributed to the cops asking him to stop playing there.

Earlier, even police personnel played with me. After the recent media coverage, more people had started gathering to watch and to play chess with me. I had started feeling like a celebrity.

Samad is now considering shifting to Huaz Khas or India Gate to continue playing. He says his local friends, however, are trying to coax him to come back to the old spot.

Samad is now considering shifting to Huaz Khas or India Gate to play.

(Aftab Shaikh and Zirak Fahem are freelance journalists currently pursuing MA in Journalism from AJK Mass Communication Research Center (MCRC), Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.)