The term has been used at times in many countries throughout the Middle East and western Asia. The first known reference is in an early-16th century biography of Bâbur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty. From water, life eventually moved partly to land. After Ganjifa cards fell out of use in Iran before the twentieth century, India became the last country to produce them. A revival of interest in these exquisite cards could bring about a change in their fortunes, while a further drop in interest could cause them to be lost in the foggy annals of history. This feature of a reversed order in the number cards of half the suits can be found in some European games, notably, These are the rules given by Shrikrisna Maudranalay, and also those in the account by Chatto (1848: 42). It was not only lack of finance, there was less audience and appreciation of his attempt to restore the ancient tradition. Now, one week into its production, the canvas becomes ready for painting. (4) There are families that have been engaged in making ganjifa cards for generations, and they have not given up, Sawantwadi in Maharashtra, Raghurajpur near Puri in Orissa, Nirmal in Andhra Pradesh. Manufacturers introduced steam powered machines, Ganjifa cards were less suited to Western card games.
The artist with his work – Ganjifa Shri Raghupathi Bhatta via. Many different spellings and transliterations can be found, such as Ganjafa, Ghendgifeh, Gunjeefa, At the start of the 21st Century production in India was still ongoing in the town of, A rectangular example dated to around 1770 is held in the collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Different types exist, and the designs, number of suits, and physical size of the cards can vary considerably. Shri Raghupathi Bhatta was phenomenal in reviving Ganjifa and was instrumental in showcasing his extraordinary works in a museum. Interestingly, Ganjifa artists always paint freehand, beginning and ending with the colour white. Vishnu’s third incarnation is Varaha or the boar. [2] The form prevalent in Odisha is Ganjapa. Link to Google books version, retrieved 30/1/2015: Refer to articles by Mr. Kishor N. Gordhandas, such as 'Cards of Honour', in the Mysore based Deccan Herald newspaper, Sunday 6/4/2008, online version. The newsgroup can be browsed for example via google: Noted by Wilkins (2002: 195). They somehow developed a distinctly Hindu flavour. [29] Modern ganjifa is usually round but rectangular cards were more common during the 18th-century and from records Persian ganjifeh was always rectangular. In Iran, the monopoly was set up following the Foreign Trade Monopoly Act of 1931. [12] Chinese money-suited cards copied their pips directly from Chinese banknotes.