Preparing for a card game this Diwali? Go back to the 16th century with a spectacular, hand-printed ganjifa deck
Artist Banamalli Mohapatra is busy creating decks of playing cards for Diwali, featuring cotton sarees, squirrel hair brushes and crushed stone paint. Atharangi Ganjifa, with 96 cards hand-painted by Banamalli, makes headlines Ganjifa this festive season. One of the oldest playing cards in the world, Ganjifa Its origins date back to the 16th century. Although Persian in origin, over time, the art form adopted the cult of Hindu mythology in its manifestations.
Each card is made through an intricate and lengthy process using old cotton sarees that are painted with a squirrel hair brush in the colors of crushed stone. In the past, Ganjifa The cards featured images of wrestlers, acrobats, swordsmen, musicians, animals and birds. However, today’s iconography has changed and is now largely focused on devotional themes.
“It was introduced by the Mughals, but then the forms were influenced by their culture,” says Neeta Shah, GM of Bangalore-based Gokup. “They bring to life, mythology, history and social customs,” she adds. Since card games are popular on Diwali, sales are targeted at this time of year.
Ganjifa cards became popular in various forms – the most popular being Dashavatar Ganjifa. others include Mughal Ganjifa, Rashi Ganjifa And Ramayana Ganjifa. “When Artisans In Odisha Started Painting Them By Hand” Patachitra genres, it became mainly mythological figures. For example, different forms of Devi, Vishnu and Krishna. Especially because Odisha is also home to the Jagannath Puri temple, one of the incarnations of Vishnu. handcrafted Dasavatharam The set depicts every single form of Vishnu,” explains Neeta.
In atharangi set (for the digit eight and Rangi for colourists), each of the eight suits is depicted by stylized birds Patachitra stylized and printed with gold edge. Drawn from freestyle, birds fly across cards in no particular order. Each suit represents a function of the royal court, such as crown, treasury, armory, mint and so on.
The cards lend themselves to variations of modern games such as poker and teen patti; Popular three-card version in India. Each suit consists of a king, a vizier and 10 number cards. After the shuffle, the cards are laid face down on a white cloth, then divided equally among the players. It also creates a sense of community as these cards tell stories. while playing Ganjifa The cards are usually circular, depending on the artist’s imagination, there are also rectangular decks.
Cards were originally used for storytelling, but are now also marketed as wall panels and coasters. “NS Dashavatar The collection in Navratri was very good. The cards are still hand-painted, but we are trying to find a utilitarian value to it, as they evoke a tradition,” says Neeta.
today, though Ganjifa History has disappeared into the annals, in some pockets across the country, people still draw cards and play the game. These include Sawantwadi in Maharashtra, Bishnupur in West Bengal, Puri in Odisha, Mysore in Karnataka, Nirmal in Andhra Pradesh and Jaipur and Mewar in Rajasthan. “We have seen a slight revival in the game among museums, craft lovers and traditional sports enthusiasts which is currently a source of continuous income for the artisans,” says Neeta.
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