Bharata Major Arcana Tarot
Bharata Major Arcana Tarot by Ishan Trivedi & Sunish Chabba, 2018. Inspired by Indian art forms.
After being successfully funded on Kickstarter...
Above: Bharata Major Arcana Tarot by Ishan Trivedi & Sunish Chabba, Guru Playing Card Company, 2018. 26 Poker size cards (63 X 88mm; 22 Major Arcana + 4 extra cards), gilded edges with an antique look, printed in China. The names of backers who supported the project on Kickstarter are mentioned in the accompanying booklet. In the back design and box elements of Indian Rajputana painting and architecture have been used. Some symbols have been picked from Indian folk arts.
The illustrations are based on traditional Indian folk art forms, Kishangarh style & miniature paintings. Apart from the classic tarot meanings, symbolism found in folk art has also been used. The trump sequence is based on Rider-Waite. Each card is hand-drawn and then finished digitally. The illustrator Ishan Trivedi’s work has been appreciated by both Indian & foreign publishers.
Above: the Tower represents sudden change, destruction and revelation. The Fool represents new beginnings, innocence and a free spirit. The Lovers card is inspired from Bani Thani, a 17th century painting by Nihâl Chand (1710-1782), chief court painter to King Savant Singh.
Above: some sources of inspiration.
REFERENCES
By Simon Wintle
Member since February 01, 1996
View ArticlesCurator and editor of the World of Playing Cards since 1996. He is a former committee member of the IPCS and was graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal for many years. He has lived at various times in Chile, England and Wales and is currently living in Extremadura, Spain. Simon's first limited edition pack of playing cards was a replica of a seventeenth century traditional English pack, which he produced from woodblocks and stencils.
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