Mysore Palace Playing Cards

YOUR VIEWS

The standard Playing Cards of India, - Ganjifa - fall under two categories; the 96 card Moghul Ganjifa of 12 cards into eight suits, and 120 or 144 cards of the Dashavatara Ganjifa of 12 cards into ten or twelve suits. Made for Kings, noble men and the common people from a great variety of material such as ivory, tortoise shell, mother-of -pearl, leather, palm leaf, starched cotton fabric, patta, paper, etc.

Ganjifa Cards are still being made in several centers for collectors, Museums, for play and display, including Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Bishnupur (West Bengal), and Sawantwadi (Maharashtra). There are stray examples of Ganjifa Cards being made recently in Karnataka in the Mysore Style. These Ganjifa are always hand made, hand painted and lacquered. There have also been a few printed Dashavatara Ganjifa of 120 cards and Moghul Ganjifa of 96 cards being the facsimile of the earlier Ganjifa cards, the original of these are now lying in private collections as well as in the collection of a couple of Playing Card Museums abroad.