![]() Playing these games not only helped an individual develop their imagination power and analytical skills, it also served as a source of recreation. Games are one of the oldest forms of human social interaction. Sports and games have always been an integral part of India. Later on, the Ganjifa cards took to new forms where cloth materials were replaced by tortoise shells or ivory and decorated with pearls, precious stones, and metals. At times, the kings even commissioned painters to make cards as per their preferences. ![]() Unlike the modern cards, these cards were traditionally painted and were completely handmade, which demanded a considerable amount of patience and hard meticulous work. The earliest versions of Krida-Patram cards were made of clothes and depicted motifs from Indian epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata.īy the time the Mugals came into power, they introduced a new variant of this card game and called these cards as ‘Ganjifa’, although the game was still known as Krida-patram. One common game that entertained both the royals and the commoners was the card game of Krida-Patram. ![]() The royal families had several leisurely tastes and hobbies that included hunting, painting and playing games. India had several princely states before the British invaded. Origin: Rajputana, Kashyapa Meru (Kashmir), Utkala (Odisha), and Nepal | Other Versions: Ganjifa cards, Poker Historical texts like Amarasimha’s Amarakosa and Banabhatta’s Harshacharita note how chess was played on an ‘Ashtapada’. In fact, the common 8×8 black-and-white checkered board on which chess is played today was called ‘ashtapada’ well into the 7th century A.D. when Gautam Buddha added it to the list of activities that could “spoil the spirit of wise men and make them plunge into violence, and hence should be avoided.” Interestingly, although the game faded from existence, what remained is the iconic board on which it was played. The game lost its importance around the 4th century B.C. Not much is known about how exactly Ashtapada was played but experts speculate that it involved some form of racing around the board much like Ludo, along with some elements of modern chess. Unlike a regular chessboard with black and white squares, Ashtapada was played with dice on a mono-coloured checkerboard. Other variants of this game were called Dasapada(played on a 10×10 board) and Saturankam(played on a 9×9). One of its earliest forms was called Ashtapada(meaning sixty-four squares) and was played on an 8×8 board. The game of chess was invented in India centuries ago. in India | Other Versions: Dasapada, Saturankam, Chaturanga, Chess
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