The Mind Boggling Amusement of Indian Circular Cards Added: 09/30/2007

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The circular cards have 12 suits of 12 cards and each- ten number cards and two face cards. The most important cards are the king and minister. The circular cards are still hand painted and also lacquered. It is very typical of the paintings in Rajasthan North west India. The most popular games played with these circular cards are Ekrang and Humrang. Both the games are played without trumps. With a high number of cards one needs to have an excellent memory to play theses games. There are strict rules that keep players in check leading to the final trick. The best way is to follow the rules closely at all times and find out the outstanding cards of highest value in the suit. In most of the games the king and minister are the highest cards. But in one of the group the pip circular are graded from number ten to number one. And in the other group they are ranked in the reversed direction. This is also characteristic of some European games like tarot or maw or haw. Even the Chinese have a similar circular cards game called ma Diao. It could be a probability that games may have common sources of origins. Indians played the popular game naqsh a banking game. It one time it was as popular as monopoly is today.

As new gambling games come into modern existence it is sad that these unique games are relegated as pieces of history. The circular cards are today a part of arts and crafts in India. For the last fifty years no one has bothered to revive these games. There is only one surviving craftsman who is continuing the tradition of making these pictorial circular cards. The Chitari community only artisan, Pudnalik Govind Chitari recently died. But not before training some youngsters. Will they be able to continue this legacy? Only time will tell. Although they are routinely doing the painting of these pictorial cards how many card game enthusiasts will support them. They are based in Sawantwadi.

Tracing the history of the circular cards, one has to go back to nearly 300 years. The round playing cards did not originate in Sawantwadi. In the 8th century AD, Malla kings of West Bengal, India started the tradition of playing these circular cards. The circular cards games were also popular in Orrisa, Jaipur, Cuddapah in South India. Every place has its own artists who created the pictorial motifs on circular boards. Each also had its distinct identity. In northern India Navgraha was important and in the south dashavatar was popular. Sadly the other places no longer have any artisans left to make these circular cards. But all is not lost as Sawantwadi still continues the tradition. The Maharastra government is supporting the artisans of the Chitari community and giving them a source of livelihood too. All is not lost in the annals of card playing history. An Austrian who was so intrigued by these circular cards made comprehensive compilation and now they are in a museum in Vienna. A set of ganjifa cards contains 120 cards. The box in which the circular cards is also beautifully designed.

Playing cards worldwide throw light on history and times of different eras in society. Circular playing cards may not be known today but at one time they were very popular. Entertainment keeps changing roud the clock all over the world. There is a difference between mindless entertainment and good entertainment. The fact that memories, skill strategies and ingenuity were tested reveal that these card games were much more than just entertainment. Despite the fact that they are being relegated to dust those remaining continue to boggle the mind.

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