Rogan Art

Rogan art is a rare craft that is not well known even in India. Because of its rare qualities, its practiced by only one family in India and they reside in Nirona village in Gujarat. Most of the other artisans have lost their art as it was not passed on during partition or lost from generation to generation. Rogan art is currently the bread earner for a family of Khatris. Gufurbhai Khatri is the head of this family and he has kept the art alive by ensuring his entire family learns and practices his life's work. He is a National award winner and is currently in the process of opening a school that teaches Rogan art to children from different families. He has not marketed his creativity through any distribution channels so I feel fortunate enough to have met him, just by chance.

Attached is a video of some examples of this art form. The paint that is used is hand pounded castor oil that is dried and turned into paste with different colors added to it. The painting is done with an iron rod and the artist holds the cloth in order to ensure the correct shape and symmetry. Rogan art done on fabric can withstand weather and hand washing. The color is not going to faint as I saw in many examples at the artist's house.