Ashish Kansara आशीष कंसारा

Ashish Shantilal Kansara was born in 1975 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat to parents Shantilal Jamnadas Kansara and Kaushalya Shantilal Kansara. Drawn to the traditional Rogan art form, Ashish left school in 10th grade to pursue his passion, having begun learning the craft just months prior. In a radio interview on All India Radio, Ashish and his wife Komal discussed their experiences with Rogan art. ^[1]

After the 2001 earthquake in Kutch devastated demand for her Rogan art lehengas and sarees, Ashish Kansara took a break from the intricate craft. A few years later, she revived her practice of Rogan art,^[2] branching out beyond garments to craft home décor, dresses, purses, kurtas, blouses, and sarees showcasing the technique. Kansara's Rogan art is unique for its focus on religious iconography, including paintings of Hindu deities like Shri Ram, Shri Swaminarayan, Shri Ganesh, Shri Shiva Parvati, Shri Radha Krishna, Shri Jagannath and Shri Hanuman. Her renowned work depicts Sri Tirupati Balaji. Kansara has also created Rogan art for Muslim and Jain communities, with pieces featuring the Kaaba and Shri Mahavir.^[3]

Ashish Kansara creates Rogan art prints, a rare craft using thick castor oil paste. The paste is the same as that used in traditional Rogan painting. In Rogan printing, artisans fill intricate brass molds with the paste and press it onto fabric, transferring the mold's design onto the cloth. The brass molds are hand-carved using an Aari blade into ornate patterns known as Biba. This traditional technique for printing Rogan designs onto textiles is called "Rogan Chhap" or Rogan Nirmika Chhap, with Nirmika meaning "creation" in Sanskrit.

To make Rogan art paste, linseed or castor oil is boiled for about 6 hours to thicken it into a paste. Powdered pigments and chalk are then added to tint the paste. The paste is applied to fabric in designs using metal rods with patterns. The painted fabric is folded, transferring the pattern to another area in a freehand manner. The finished cloth is placed in direct sunlight for 10-12 hours to set the colors.

Ashish Kansara, who now lives in the small village of Madhapar in Kutch, Gujarat, is married to fellow Rogan art artist Komal Kansara, who learned the craft after their marriage. Komal teaches Rogan art to a group of 130 women from the village who now work for Ashish, helping to keep the traditional art form alive.

1. ↑ સાંપ્રત | કચ્છની ભાતીગળ રોગાન કળાના કલાકાર આશિષ કંસારા સાથે સુરેશ બિજલાણીની વાતચીત, अभिगमन तिथि 2023-06-17
2. ↑ Artists doing rare Rogan Art in Gujarat’s Kutch, अभिगमन तिथि 2023-06-17
3. ↑ "चुनाव के बीच कच्छ में देखिए रोगन आर्ट की कला | Rogan painting". News18 हिंदी. 2022-11-30. अभिगमन तिथि 2023-06-17.