It is January 2019,and we are at the Rann of Kutch on a full moon to experience the white Salt filled Desert.We are staying at the Classic Rider’s Camp,6 kms from the Rannotsav venue.The place is calm and clean,and the owner is a mustachioed Rajasthani landlord. While enquiring about our plans for the day after,he asks us whether we have heard the name of Rogan,an art form practiced at Nirona village.
Sushanta and his wife Sarbani, who have stayed at Ahmedabad for 15 years have not heard about it.Nor have I.We decide to visit the next morning.
Nirona is 60 kms drive from our camp.It is a typical well to do Gujarati village. To enter the smaller alleyways ,we have to get down from our car.Elderly villagers in spotless white clothes and large white headgear are sharing a newspaper while sipping tea.Large bullocks with fearsome horns roam the streets.There are the ubiquitous mobile and kirana shops.Children look enquiringly at us.We turn a corner and come across a doorway with a lot of well heeled people waiting.
The word Rogan comes from Persian, meaning oil.In the art of rogan,Vegetable dyes are mixed with heated oil and painted on cloth.Though its name suggests a Persian origin,there is no solid evidence behind this.Rogan came to the Bhuj from Sindh district of erstwhile Pakistan around 150 yrs back. Textiles with Rogan art were patronized by the lower castes,who used them for decoration and marriages. From the early to the late 20th century,the art of Rogan gradually declined due to the emegence of printed and synthetic clothes which were much cheaper. So much so that it was being practiced only by a couple of Khatri families in Nirona village.
After the Bhuj earthquake, there was a massive improvement in infrastructure. Roads and air connectivity improved.Tourism was encouraged. Lots of Foreigners came to Bhuj dustrict.Indigenous handicrafts and art forms were supported by the government. Rogan also gradually came back.But it was still practiced by two families in this village. A number of these artists were encouraged with medals and citations at the national level.The practice if Rogan was limited to male members only,because of the risks of the technique being leaked to women’s in laws. But now women are gradually learning the art form.
We are at the house of Abdul Gaffur Khatri ,the seniormost and most decorated artist .He is the recipient of the Presidents Gold Medal.He came to the limelight few years back,when two of his creations were gifted to Pesident Barack Obama by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his state visit.
We enter the house.There is a large courtyard at the end of which fabrics are in the process of dyeing.To the left are two spotlessly clean toilets,evidence of frequent visits by Foreigners. To the right is a largish house.The verandah is a display cum sale area manned by younger members of the family Because of the restricted availability of the product,prices tend to be on a bit higher side.It is very labour intensive,a wall hanging with intricate work may take ten days to finish.Smalller products like ladies purse,mobile covers,hand bags are being made for wider consumption these days.
Castor oil is used for this process here.It is either painted with a stylus on a piece of cloth or used with a block print .Inside the house Abdul Gaffur is engrossed in his work. However he is a shrewd business man who has seen a lot of visitors. He asks us whether we are really interested in buying ,and after confirming our intention, shows us some excellent pieces, including a hundred year old bedcover,a family heirloom. There are sarees,dupatta,and the most widely used are wall hanging with the tree of life motive. We are shown the piece gifted to Obama.It is too big.
I am very happy that I got to visit this place and got to see this wonderful and intricate and unique art. The family run a website and sell their products on line.But it is very diffucult to anticipate as to how long the younger generation will persevere with this time consuming form of art.
Memories and musings 