Ganjifa Cards of Mysore

Ganjifa cards of Mysore are a traditional crafts of Mysore. It is an ancient card game and the art associated with it is one of the prominent crafts which has made its name worldwide. Kings, prime ministers and noblemen played the cards as past time. The cards are based on epic themes. These cards are made in different sizes and shapes. The epic Ramayana has 28 to 1008 cards whereas Dasavatara has 120 cards. The number of cards for each theme varies from 16 to 900. The artistic skill of this traditional craft is seen in its adoption of designs with minute details. Besides the graphic features, the most interesting peculiarity of any Ganjifa deck is that they are hand-made and hand-painted by skilled craftsmen, known as Chitrakara.Therefore, each deck is a truly unique item.