Under the Latest and popular online series of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya entitled ‘Exhibit of the Week’ the “DARCHITRI GANJIFA- playing cards” collected from Chitari communities of Sindhudurg, Maharashtra in 2000 displayed in the audience as the First Exhibit of the month of April,2023 through official website, Facebook, Instagram and twitter page of the IGRMS.
In this regard Dr. BhuvanVikram, Director, IGRMS said that this Ganjifa, also known as Ganjapa or Ganjafa, is a card game involving playing cards mostly associated with Persia and India. Cards are circular and traditionally hand-painted by artisans. Ganjifa comes from the Persian word Ganjifesh, meaning playing cards.
There are different versions of Ganjifa in Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kashmir, and Karnataka. It was a popular source of entertainment in India for kings, courtiers, and common folks. A set of 120 cards composes Dashavatar Ganjifa and the playing style and rules also vary across regions. These playing cards depict Lord Vishnu in his ten incarnations according to Hindu ancient scriptures.