The game is on

Ganjifa is a traditional palace game of cards which has over a period of time, evolved into an art form. Like so many traditional games, ganjifa also went into oblivion due to lack of royal patronage and players but a few artists in different parts of the country remained in its pursuit as an art form, albeit on a small scale. Today, ganjifa, originally called ganjifey, is crawling back to public memory.

Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath (CKP) has put together an impressive event regarding the ancient card game. Around 150 ganjifa exhibits, live demonstrations, seminars, a Ramsons stall selling traditional board games are part of the affair which goes on till May 8.

“People don’t play these games any more but now they are being rediscovered as an art form. The idea is to bring these games back to public, to the younger generation. So, what we have tried to do here is to give a complete view of ganjifa, right from their history to their evolution. We are even telling people how to play it,” says artist MJ Kamalakshi, General Secretary, CKP.

Different styles and stories

Before entering the main exhibition hall, you will come across live demonstrations going on, representing four ganjifa schools from different parts of the country - Sawantwadi Ganjifa from Maharashtra, Navadurga Ganjifa from Odisha, Bishnupur Ganjifa from West Bengal and Mysuru ganjifa from Karnataka. Under the guidance of Shilpguru Banamali Mohapatra, a group of CKP students are creating ganjifa cards in Odisha style. “While the cards remain round in shape in all the schools, the imagery changed depending on the culture of the place. In Odisha, the cards drew a lot from Krishna’s life whereas in Mysuru Ganjifa, goddess Chamundeshwari became a dominant motif,” says a former CKP student L Pl Angappan, who is coordinating the exhibition. Even the treatment of cloth of which the cards are made, varies. Mohapatra tells me that in Odisha ganjifa, the cloth is treated with tamarind in order to make it stiff. “In Odisha, the game used to be popular amongst brahmins. Now there are no players left but we continue to make it because we keep getting demand for it as a decorative item,” says the senior artist from Raghurajpur, who is among the few experts of Ganjapa, as ganjifa is known in Odisha.

In the Bishnupur style, one comes across larger circular shaped cards as well, each made with 10 fine layers of cloth.

Rewind

After ganjifa reportedly reached India from Persia, it became a palace game played between kings and the cards were made on ivory and even tortoise shell. After it became popular among the masses, the cards began to be made out of wood, cloth and paper. The artists made their own colours from vegetable dyes to render stories from Hindu scriptures in intricate details.

Enter the exhibition hall to be submerged in the world of ganjifas of various shapes and sizes. Here CKP displays some rare ganjifa cards from its own collection and has also sourced collections from well-known collectors like KK Maheshwari, Sudha Venkatesh and museums.

The evolution

From the very traditional subject matter of Dashavatara, Ramayana, Ashtadikpala and Nakshatra to the freedom struggle or kalyanam ceremony, ganjifa sets on display cover a full spectrum. By and large, ganjifas were round in shape but then artists experimented and created rectangular ganjifas as well. While Dashavatara set has 120 cards, Devi has 320 cards and Mughal ganjifa has 96 cards. In the refurbished Decorative Arts Gallery at National Museum in Delhi, ganjifa cards in Mysore style occupy pride of place.

With the due permission of the museum, CKP is showcasing the photograph of the Nakshatra ganjifas in ivory at the exhibition.

GI tagged Mysuru ganjifa was promoted by the Wodeyar kings mainly Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar and the exhibition has a portrait of the king included as well.

“Under the British, Mummadi didn’t have much power so he concentrated on promoting art and culture,” says Kamalakshi.

“Today Raghupati Bhat’s name is synonymous with ganjifa for the role he has played in the revival of Mysuru ganjifa. The celebrated artist couldn’t be part of the event as he is currently travelling,” says Angappan.

Old and the new happily share space where ganjifas find themselves mounted in beautiful wooden frames. “An artist came across a collection somewhere so we just put it together on a frame and it looks like one complete art work.”

The exhibition is on at CKP, Kumara Krupa Road, till May 8. On April 7 and 8, seminars and talks will take place at 11 am and 1 pm