Nirona27 minutes agoAuthor: Waghji Ahir
- Copy link
- The lacquer work of Rizwan Khatri, who prepared the mast head for Bhaskar, was recently gifted by Prime Minister Modi to the Prime Minister of Japan!
- Today women in Nirona are also gaining foothold by learning lacquer art
Nature is cruel to Kutch. But the people here have captured the different colors of the same nature in their art. No other region of the world has developed as many forms of handicrafts as various forms have been developed in Kutch! There is only one art i.e. lacquer. This art has disappeared in the world but it is preserved in Kutch!
This art of Persian origin has now even reached the White House in Washington DC. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to America in the year 2015, he gave a painting of Rogan Art to US President Barack Obama. Prime Minister Modi recently gifted the lacquer work of Rizwan Khatri, who prepared the mast head for Bhaskar, to the Prime Minister of Japan.
This art is very developed in Nirona village of Kutch. Rizwanbhai Khatri says that Rogan means oil. Historically this art is about 300 years old. The origin of which is Persia (modern day Iran). From there this art was brought to Kutch through Sindh. Currently only two Khatri families have kept this art alive. Teo says that colors are natural for lacquer painting. Castor oil is boiled. Natural colors can be added to make an oil jelly.
A specimen of lacquer is made on a cloth measuring 24 by 17 inches. It takes approximately 10 days. And if a larger sample is to be made, sometimes it takes one to three months. Central and state governments have also given various honors to Rizwan Khatri for the development of this art. In which in 2021, he was honored with the National Kamala Devi Award for Lacquer Art. He was also awarded the Indira Gandhi National Art Center Award in 2017, Gujarat Government Best Young Artisan Award in 2016.
