Ganjifa – the royal game of cards in Sawantwadi!

A game of cards with more than 100 cards in a single deck, with every card hand-painted and crafted in ivory using minute details. This is the royal game of ‘Ganjifa’. Said to have originated in Persia, Ganjifa is a game that travelled to India with the Mughals in the 16th century. Spreading in different regions and states, it was seen to be continually modified and designed by the imagination of artists. Scholars from Telangana introduced Raje Khem Sawant Bhonsale III, the erstwhile ruler of the Sawantwadi region in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra and the local craftsmen who were […]