Reviving the hand-painted royal playing cards of Maharashtra's Sawantwadi
Summary
Conservation efforts by an erstwhile royal family is bringing centuries-old hand-painted cards back into the spotlight
The Sawantwadi ganjifa handpainted cards came into the national spotlight last year when it was awarded the Geographical Indication tag. The recognition also brought to the fore the conservation efforts by the erstwhile royal family of the region. According to Shraddha Lakham Sawant Bhonsle, the granddaughter-in-law of the family, Maharashtra’s Sawantwadi is perhaps the few places in India where ganjifa is still alive. This style of hand-painted cards first originated in Persia and came to India with the Mughals. They were adapted to the storyline of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, with Hindu deities being painted on the cards.
“The game was brought to Sawantwadi by the Telangana Brahmins, who came here from Andhra Pradesh to study dharmashastra in the 16th century during the reign of Khem Sawant Bhonsle III," elaborates Bhonsle. “During the 18th and 19th centuries, our ancestors built a lot of schools to teach ganjifa. Sadly, over a period of time, the art diminished as many artists went their own separate ways." So much of the art was lost that even her grandparents-in-law were not aware of its existence. One day, when her grandfather-in-law was going about his rounds to meet the people of Sawantwadi, he met an artist called Pundalik Chitari, who was painting the Dashavatar ganjifa on his porch. He was immediately drawn to it and informed his wife, Satvashiladevi Bhonsle, about the same—both decided to revive this art form by creating a company called Sawantwadi Lacquerware.
“A few months later, my grandmother-in-law received a letter from one of her pen friends that they had seen the Sawantwadi playing cards displayed at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. That’s when the family decided to further the revival efforts by introducing more items inspired by the ganjifa cards," says Bhonsle. They collaborated with Chitari and invited artists from other regions to learn the art. The journey which started way back in the 1970s is being taken forward by Bhonsle and her mother-in-law, Shubhadadevi Bhonsle. They currently work with 14 artists.
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This art form is in danger of dying out as there is no state support for the artists. “This was also the reason for converting a part of our palace into an art hotel. Because we have people coming here to stay from different corners of the world, we are able to promote the art more widely," she adds. Through free workshops, guests also get to know what makes the Sawantwadi ganjifa so distinct. The region is known for the Dashavatar ganjifa, based on the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu. It is signified by the use of bright colours like red, green and yellow. Also, unlike the Western playing cards, the ganjifa cards are often circular. “That’s because in Indian mythology, there are no sharp corners. Unlike the West, the game was more widely played by women than men in India. There is a religious subtext too. Because the game involved saying the names of deities, people believed they were washing off some of their sins by playing it. As deities are painted on the cards, no one could gamble with them," explains Bhonsle.
Apart from the Dashavatar, her family has also designed other types of cards related to animals and birds, the alphabet, star signs, and the cosmos. The idea is to educate people on different subjects through a game. To usher a medieval game into the contemporary era, Bhonsle and her family are entering into a number of collaborations with corporates. This also spells into better commissions for the artists. Instead of just creating traditional card sets, Bhonsle and the artists are working on modern styles for organisations such as Swadesh and Jaypore. “For Swadesh, we have done darts and UNO sets. UNO is an easier game to play, so people are very engaged with it. For Jaypore, we are doing Ludo based on the ganjifa motifs," says Bhonsle. “We are also collaborating with MeMeraki, working on ganjifa bridal wear with an artist, hand-painted saris with a boutique store in Kolhapur, floral motifs for a crockery brand, and jewellery with designers. A museum of cards is in the works."
Meanwhile, her family is working on several initiatives for the artists. For instance, they are collaborating with an organisation called Streekon to promote women artists in Sawantwadi. “The idea is to get more women involved with the art and work with us on a daily basis."
Sona Bahadur is an independent journalist and author based in Mumbai.
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