The beauty of traditions and cultures is that they are never static. They intermingle and take on the hues of their surroundings. But at the same time, diffuse enough of their individuality into their surroundings so as to make it their own. This is also what happened to Ganjifa cards- which traveled through various lands and kingdoms and changed their shape, colors, and appearance based on the hands that dealt them.
The earliest versions of these cards have been traced back to the late 14th century. They were ornamental rectangular cards played by royalty and the common public alike in the regions of Persia and modern-day Syria and Egypt.
Cultures, in those days, traveled through merchants and invaders. Ganjifa too traveled to India in the early 16th century with the Mughal emperor Babar and became an intrinsic part of local Indian culture.
During the Mughal period, Ganjifa was a popular game, especially among the female quarters. Indeed, the cards are mentioned in famous Mughal literature like Babar’s memoirs, Babarnama, as well as Ain-i-Akbari, written by Abul Fazl during Akbar’s reign.
During this period, Ganjifa was a 96-card game with eight suits. They soon gave up their rectangular shape and became circular. Suited to the interests of the players, each suit depicted a function of the royal court, for example, the king, the treasury, the armory, the mint, etc. These cards were made by a specific artisan community called chitrakaras. Catering to royal tastes, chitrakaras hand-painted the expensive ivory or tortoise-shell cards with natural colors and embellished with gemstones. These cards were called darbar kaalam.
the reason its endangered, is because it hand-painted. I do respect the artists, but due to hand-painted card stock. It becomes very costly for common to purchase it.
If its not published then it will definitely go extinct.
There’s time for everything, maybe its time for these Card to see the light of Publishing houses!