Rogan painting is an art of
cloth printing practiced in
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
,
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
and
Sindh. In this craft, paint made from boiled oil and
vegetable dyes is laid down on fabric using either a metal block (printing) or a
stylus (painting). The craft nearly died out in the late 20th century, with rogan painting being practiced by only a few families in Gujrat of India and Peshawar in Pakistan. The name itself means oil.
History
The process of applying this oil-based paint to fabric began among the Hindu and Muslim
Khatri
Khatri is a caste of the Indian subcontinent that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the subcontinent, they were mostly engaged in mercantilistic professions such as banking and trade, they were the d ...
s, a community in
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
.
Although the name ''rogan'' (and some of the traditional designs) suggests an origin in Indian culture, there are no reliable historic records to prove this.
The word ''rogan'' comes from Persian or
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
, meaning oil and rangkaam
Rogan painting was initially practiced in several locations in the Gujarat region. The painted fabric was mostly purchased by women of the lower castes who wanted to decorate clothing and bed coverings for their weddings.
Therefore, it was a seasonal art, with most of the work taking place during the several months when most weddings take place. During the rest of the year, the artisans would switch to other forms of work, such as agriculture.
With the rise of cheaper, machine-made
textile
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
s in the late 20th century, roghan-painted products became relatively more expensive, and many artists turned to other occupations. Ultimately, few families in the Gujarat, continued the craft.
Resurgence of the art
In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, several factors came together to bring about a renewed interest in rogan art, especially painting. First, after the
2001 Gujarat earthquake, when much of the region was devastated, the water and electricity infrastructure was improved, new roads were built, and the number of flights into the region was increased, all of which led to an increase in tourism.
Second, local
cooperatives
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
and
non-profit group
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
s helped local artisans, including roghan artists, to increase their market by selling in urban settings and online.
Third, many artisans won state and national awards for their art, thus increasing the prestige of their work.
Finally, in 2014, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...
visited the
U.S. White House, and gave
President Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
two roghan paintings including a
tree of life
The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythological, religious, and philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The Assyrian Sacred Tree: A Hist ...
. They were painted by
Abdul Gafur Khatri, a national award winner.
Artisans in Gujarat have introduced contemporary products to appeal to tourists, such as God's portrait, Raja Ram Darbar, bags, cushion covers, table cloths, wall hangings, and pillow covers. The tree of life continues to be a major motif.
The number of tourists to the artisans workshop increased steadily in the 2010s to as many as 400 people per day, causing traffic jams in the village.
In an attempt to keep up with increased demand, in 2010 the artisans began to train women for the first time. Previously, it was feared that women would spread the secrets of the craft when they married out of the family.
In 2015, twenty women were working with the family in Kutch Gujarat.
Following the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
in 2020, a number of the tourists visiting them dropped significantly and the women working with them were laid off. Only family members were left to work on the craft.
Process of rogan printing
Rogan paint is produced by boiling
castor oil
Castor oil is a vegetable oil pressed from castor beans.
It is a colourless or pale yellow liquid with a distinct taste and odor. Its boiling point is and its density is 0.961 g/cm3. It includes a mixture of triglycerides in which about ...
for about two days and then adding vegetable pigments and a
binding agent
A binder or binding agent is any material or substance that holds or draws other materials together to form a cohesive whole mechanically, chemically, by adhesion or cohesion.
In a more narrow sense, binders are liquid or dough-like substances th ...
; the resulting paint is thick and shiny.
The cloth that is painted or printed on is usually a dark color, which makes the intense colors stand out.
In rogan printing, the pattern is applied using metal blocks with patterns carved into them. In rogan painting, elaborate designs are produced freehand, by trailing thread-like strands of paint off of a stylus.
Frequently, half of a design is painted, then the cloth is folded in half, transferring a mirror image to the other half of the fabric. The designs include floral motifs, animals, and local folk art.
See also
*
Woodblock printing on textiles
References
External links
The Link Between Modi, Obama and the Village of Nirona in Kutch!Official website of the Nirvana Khatri familyOfficial website of Ashish Kansara
A video showing the process of rogan paintingRogan Art Painting SareeRogan art Traditional LehengaRogan Art Traditional Blouse Piece* https://www.fadingcultures.org/single-project-4 Rogan silk painting in Pakistan]
{{fabric
Textile printing
Textile arts of India
Gujarati culture
Culture of Kutch
Printed fabrics