ganjifa cards lets try another round by BhavnaChhabria from india

Great things never die! A traditional game is a rich and authentic expression of a culture. On a shelf in a corner of a store in Karnataka, lie a couple of Ganjifa card boxes that hold the story of a dying art.
Ganjifa or ganjappa cards are the traditional playing cards in India. Their history is shrouded in a haze. This indoor game became a royal passion during the Moghul rule, patronized by the Badshahs – Babar and his daughter were experts in the game, according to some historians. It is believed to have had its origin in India one thousand years ago, known in Sanskrit as Kreeda Patra. But with Persian and Arabic influence, the game came to be known as Ganjifa meaning money or treasure and playing for stakes became a favorite pastime amongst the aristocracy. Ganjifa is one of the oldest playing cards of India. These are circular beautifully hand painted .This game form has continuously been facing transformations with regard to its game, color, shape, size, designs, etc. based on various socio cultural aspects. As years pass by this traditional artistic game form is facing a sorry death and requires serious steps for its revival.
Research is required in order to understand the nature of Ganjifa cards. To identify and understand the reasons behind the change and hence provide suitable suggestions in order to revive this artistic game form in today’s context. The objective is to understand the art of creating Ganjifa cards and provide a design development in order to revive the almost extinct game of Ganjifa.The cards are completely hand painted with traditional natural colours on circular cardboard sheets.
This study is an Exploratory Research followed by Experimental Research. The former provides details on the transformation of these cards over the years, the need to revive this game form and the latter provides it a platform in today’s market by designing a new game providing today’s generation to try a round of Ganjifa. The themes portrayed in the ganjifa packs range from the social to religious ones. The choice of subjects has always reflected the socio-religious trend in society. The cards designed will bring out the religious trends of Indian culture taking a step towards preventing this wonderful art and game form from facing extinction. The game designed is a simple one in which the players have to match the image on one card to the relevant text on the other and form pairs hence making this game simple, entertaining and educative. Ganjifa now looks to a new generation to try another round.