Card Games of Yore

Ganjifa—‘Ganj’ being Persian for treasure—was a well-known card game in Mughal times. Babur mentioned it in his memoirs and, according to Abul Fazl, Akbar simplified the game. Eventually two main styles emerged: a 96-card Mughal ganjifa and a ‘Hinduised’ 120-card Dashavatara (based on Vishnu’s 10 avatars), much played in Bengal, Odisha, MP, Rajasthan and Nepal. The elite used ornate sets made of ivory or tortoise shell inlaid with precious stones, while commoners used cheaper sets made from wood or palm leaf. Pieces of cloth were used too—glued, dried, primed with tamarind-seed extract, coated with lime, and burnished with stone before being painted.