Rogan Castor Oil Textile Art Nirona Kutch Gujarat

Rogan art is a rare textile painting tradition practiced exclusively by a single family of Khatri artisans from the village of Nirona near Bhuj in Kutch, Gujarat. Rogan uses a highly viscous paste made from heated castor oil mixed with mineral pigments, applied to cloth with a metal stylus or a stick without the stylus touching the fabric, by pulling the oil-pigment thread into elaborate arabesque and tree-of-life patterns. The technique is unique in the world and has been passed down only within the Khatri family for 400 years. A Rogan tree-of-life painting was given as a gift to Barack Obama by the then Prime Minister in 2014, bringing international fame. The craft faced extinction and was sustained by master artisan Abdul Gafur Khatri. The Khamir Craft Resource Centre and tourism have helped revive income for the Nirona Khatri family.