GANJIFA ART OF SAWANTWADI
“A Brief History on the origin of Cards in India and Sawantwadi and Patronage by the Sawant Bhonsle of Sawantwadi”
Ganjifa are playing cards and trace back to its origin in Persia. It was brought down to India by the Mughals in the 16th Century. It is believed that Ganjifa cards arrived through Sufi saints during Mughal period. The origin of the term Ganjifa is obscure. It is said ‘Ganj’ is a Persian term meaning treasure, treasury or hoard; while others suggest it is from the Persian word ‘ganjifeh’ meaning ‘playing cards’. This game was played at courts as well as by the general public. The Mughal version of Ganjifa was a 96-card game with 8 suits, each depicting a function of the royal court, such as the crown, the treasury, the armory, the mint and so on. In the royal courts, the Ganjifa card game was known as Darbar Kalam, and the materials used were ivory, tortoise shell and other rich materials. At the same time, as it went famous with masses, it was called Bazaar Kalam. Bazaar Kalam was made of cheaper materials like palm leaf, stiffened cloth, paste boards, etc. which were affordable for everyone. Darbari cards have decorative borders whereas Bazaar cards are without borders.
The art form is divided into categories such as classical, traditional, folk and tribal. Ganjifa falls under traditional form. They are circular, rectangular and oval in shape and are handmade by the artisans.Initially the cards had Persian motifs and letters on the cards, but later to give them more Indian touch the royalty asked the artisans to incorporate native motifs and that is how,
many figures from the Ramayana, Dashavtara and Rashis came along.
The card game also contributed in popularizing interesting mythological stories, people believed that the game gave them an opportunity to utter the name of God. It is believed that by repeatingthe name of God, sins are remitted. Besides being a game and an art form, Dashavtara was also used to teach people about our culture and stories from our scriptures, which is why one never
gambles with the Ganjifa. It was played to build a sense of community.
All the states in India had their own style of making Ganjifa cards: Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal, Punjab, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Maharashtra. These places were once active centers for Ganjifa cards. These cards have been decorated with varied images of indigenous figures and forms depicting various divinities, flora and fauna along with numerical details. Now only a few families in Mysore, Puri, Bishnupur and Sawantwadi are involved in practicing it.
The craft of lacquerware was introduced in Sawantwadi around the end of 17th century by the Telangana Brahmins who came from Andhra Pradesh to hold discourses in Dharmashastra with Khem Sawant III, the then ruler of Sawantwadi. Khem Sawant III was also a patron of arts and music.
This craft and the community of artisans, the Chitaris further flourished under the Royal Patronage of the Rulers of Sawantwadi, the Sawant Bhonsles. During the 18th and the 19th centuries, various schools of this craft were started in Sawantwadi.
The Ganjifa cards were made from paper that were covered with a mixture of tamarind seed powder and oil, painted and coated with lac. Presently, the painting of floral borders and motifs and mythological figures is done with water-based tempera colours and these are then covered
with lacquer in order to preserve and enhance their color values. The colours used were generally from the natural materials that were easily available in the surrounding areas. But, as a result of scarcity of these materials, we had then shifted to the water-based tempera colours.
Each suit in Ganjifa game has a different colour for its background. The colours typical to Sawantwadi are red, green, yellow, brown and black. The back of the cards have typically a uniform colour which is orange. It is usually played with 3 players.
The Dashavtar Ganjifa is based on the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu. They are Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Nrusinha, Waman, Parshuram, Ram, Krishna, Buddha and Kalkin. It is a set of 120 cards wherein there are 10 suits with 12 cards each. The 12 cards are further divided into 2 court cards which are the picture cards having the King and the Minister or Pradhan card and the
other 10 are numeral cards or pip cards from Ace to 10 which have the suit signs or hukum painted on it.
Along with Dashavtar Ganjifa, we also make Dashavtar Darchitri Ganjifa, Chang Kanchan (Mughal Ganjifa), Navagraha (Nine Planets), Rashi (Zodiac sign), Dhanalakshmi, Musical Instrument, Animal, Bird, Tarot and playing cards are Indo — French, Aryadev, Oval and Double
Figure. Earlier they also used to do alphabetical Ganjifa. Rajmata had developed miniature Ganjifa which she used to do it herself.
Sawantwadi Lacquerwares was established by H. H. Rajesaheb Lt. Col. Shivram Sawant Bhonsle and H. H. Rajmata Satvashiladevi Bhonsle in 1971. Once when H.H Rajesaheb Shivramraje Bhonsle visited the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, he noticed a label reading Sawantwadi Cards. That’s when he learnt about the cards that were being made in Sawantwadi. He collected more information about it. After coming to Sawantwadi, he searched for the artists
who would make such cards. He and his wife, themselves learnt the art from the 80 years old artist Pundalik Chitari who at that time would make 2 sets of Ganjifa for a year. They started Sawantwadi Lacquerwares to revive and promote the art of Ganjifa and Lacquerware. Their objective was to teach this art to the younger generation so that it can be carried forward.
