Indo-French Hindu Deities Ganjifa

Above: Odisha, in eastern India.

Bright-colored, crisply outlined Hindu gods are on these Indo-French Ganjifa handmade cards which feature Indian art and motifs on Western French-suited decks. These are often created for tourists.

Each rank – i.e. all Threes or all Jacks – has the same picture, which, together with the joker, totals to 14 different images. Ten are clearly Vishnu avatars recycled from the pradhan (minister) cards of dashavatar decks. Indeed, the cards match the traditional order of the avatars, going from ace to ten.

• Ace – Matsya (fish)
• Two – Kurma (tortoise)
• Three – Varaha (boar)
• Four – Narasimha (man-lion)
• Five – Vamana (Brahmin dwarf)
• Six – Parashurama
• Seven – Rama
• Eight – Krishna
• Nine – Buddha
• Ten – Kalki

That leaves the court cards and joker. They are:

• Jack – the beloved monkey deity Hanuman
• Queen – Garuda (half-man, half-bird that Vishnu traditionally rides)
• King – Vishnu himself
• The Joker – a vidushaka (jester figure in Hindu theater)

The cards are illustrated in the bright, bold, unmistakable style of Pattachitra folk painting tradition native to Odisha in eastern India. However, Khazana Imported Arts & Textiles, which provided the images of this deck, said it was purchased in Sawantwadi, hundreds of miles from Odisha. Sawantwadi has its own unique ganjifa tradition that looks nothing like the art on these cards. Most likely, they were painted in Odisha, then somehow wound up in Sawantwadi.