Mahesh, Mohit and
Rohit Jangid in profile The Jangid family lives in the
city of Jaipur in the state of
Rajasthan, India, an area that for
centuries has been known worldwide
for quality, elegance, design, ethnic
flavour and unmatched workmanship
in both utilitarian and artistic wooden
masterpieces. Using the simplest tools,
these artisans – father Mahesh and
his sons Mohit and Rohit – faithfully
adhere to the style of their forefathers,
which has helped to keep the tradition
of miniature carving alive. Learning to
carve with precision and exactness on a
miniature scale is challenging for even
the most seasoned carvers, but for
45-year-old Mahesh and his sons, Mohit
– 22 – and Rohit – 20 – it is a lifelong
We speak to Mahesh, Mohit and Rohit Jangid, of Jaipur, India,
who specialise in miniature carving, down to the very last detail
PHOTOGRAPHS BY …
➥
A village scene carving, the Ashram
FEATURE
In profile
labour of love and an honoured family
tradition passed down through many
generations.
Mahesh Jangid
Mahesh was born in Churu District,
Rajasthan. He learned the art of
woodcarving at the age of seven, under
the tutelage of his grandfather, Shri
Mal Chand Ji – a nationally recognised
woodcarver and National Award winner.
After a basic education, Mahesh gave up
studies to devote his life to sandalwood (Santalum album) carving and by the
time he was 24, Mahesh had earned
his own national carving award for his
extraordinary miniature work. In 1993,
he won the National Award for his
A village scene carving, the Ashram
Mahesh Jangid
Mohit Jangid
sandalwood carved hand fan and his
extraordinary achievements, due to the
high quality of work and the efforts
needed to carve each piece of work.
Now living and working in Jaipur with
his sons, Mahesh has devoted his life
to this unique art form. He has shared
his passion and techniques with his two
sons and they too have gone on to win
multiple awards and recognitions for
their carvings.
Mahesh has broken a number of
records with his work, when he carved
his fine, delicate smallest jointless chain
from a solid piece of sandalwood. The
chain is 315mm in length and weighs just
160g. He has also since carved one more
jointless chain from another solid piece of sandalwood, this time with the chain
measuring 10ft long with 496 links and
weighing just 12g, which is the longest
wooden jointless chain. Mahesh has two
records in the Limca Book of Records
for making these jointless chains and
also has a record in the Indian Book of
Records and one record in the Global
World Record for the same pieces.
To promote his work, Mahesh
participates in national art and crafts
exhibitions and fairs, such as Delhi Haat,
Suraj Kund Mela, Master Creations
Delhi, etc., but he also participates in
international art exhibitions and fairs
in France, Germany, Egypt, Malaysia,
Poland, Switzerland and more.
Mahesh looks to his sons taking on the
family tradition and tells us: “I feel so
proud of both of my sons for following
our traditional carving techniques. They
are so dedicated to this work and are
very creative. They are always thinking
about how to make their carvings more
attractive and beautiful. So I think they
both will do much better in their lives.”
Mohit Jangid
Mohit was born in Jaipur, Rajasthan
and was initiated into the craft at a
very young age. Since graduating and
leaving school, he has also chosen to
dedicate his life to woodcarving, having
already done it for 15 years. He feels
strongly that the Jangid family have a
woodcarving talent and knows that he
would rather spend his life learning and
developing that skill than taking on a job
he dislikes and ‘wouldn’t have respect
for’. Mohit tells us he is ‘addicted’ to his
work, so feels he and his brother can do
much better in life with woodcarving,
than in a job with ‘limits’: a ’limited
salary’, ‘limited time’ and ‘limited work’.
Woodcarving, on the other hand, is
limitless – it’s up to the two brothers to
find new things to carve, new designs
and more miniature work.
Mohit tells us: “I do prefer miniature
because I’ve seen this type of carving
from my childhood and miniature work
is the most important thing in our
work, because it makes our items more
attractive. We can make all kinds of
carved products, but miniature carving
is my favourite. I give my best to this
carving work and I always enjoy it.”
His knowledge of epics and religious
texts has helped him bring a rare blend
of beauty and craftsmanship to his
creations.
Like his father, Mohit is no stranger to
awards and records. He has previously
received the State Award 2008–09 by
Rajasthan C.M. Shri Ashok Gahlot for
Excellence in Sandalwood Carving.
He also holds a world record for the
‘smallest playable violin’ and two
national records for his smallest in size
violin. This remarkable piece is just
130mm tall and 19mm tall. The item is
exactly to scale and performs the same
➥
function as the everyday, original violin,
usually with four strings.
Rohit Jangid
Rohit was also very young when he
began to learn the traditional art of
miniature carving from his father. Unlike
his brother, Rohit is still studying.
Although near graduation, he cannot
dedicate to carving full-time just yet.
He does, however, have a record in the
Indian Book of Records for making a
wooden house-fly and some national
and local records for the same piece.
In order to get his work seen, he
participates in national and some local
art and craft exhibitions.
Rohit tells us: “I like miniature work in
my art and we – the Jangids – are the
only people who make these kind of
carving products with scenes in flipped
lids. All scenes have their own story.”
Rohit loves it when people are surprised
as he shows them his work and then
he opens the lids, to scenes they don’t expect to see in such tiny shells.
“Miniature carving involves engraving
the wood on the contours of the design
with the utmost care. We make many
of our own small tools according to our
needs: small iron sticks, knives, chisels
and some tools for filing,” he tells us.
Looking to the future, he continues:
“We work at home, so I will definitely
teach this work to my future children and
then, if they want to go with any other
profession, I will support them.”
Rohit tells us that he also had the
choice to take another profession, but
he picked carving for his life’s work. He
feels that if people are forced to do a
profession they can’t do to their best
ability, it’s best to teach them a skill and
then they can continue the work if they
want. Should his children want to do
otherwise, Rohit tells us he will always
be there to support them.
Inspiration
Mahesh and his sons draw inspiration
for their miniaturised wooden carvings
from history, mythology and day-to-day
life in India. Their work is accomplished
with the most basic and often handmade
tools applied with the meticulous care
of a filigree artist.
The most typical woods used for
ornamental and inlay work in India
are walnut (Juglans regia), rosewood
(Dalbergia latifolia), ebony (Diospyros
spp.), teak (Tectonia grandis), sal (Shorea
robusta) and sandalwood (Santalum
album). The Jangid family works almost
exclusively in sandalwood, due to its
malleable characteristics and delicate
natural fragrance. Mahesh explains: “Sandalwood is the most conducive
medium for our particular craft because
it is softer than most types of wood and
easier for us to work with.”
Methods
Their highly intricate designs are created
by using a combination of carving
methods, such as deep carving, shallow
carving, latticework and fretwork on
a nearly impossible miniature scale. In
fact, each carver has a place in the Limca
Book of Records for their miniatures.
Mahesh for his tiny 91-link woodcarved
chain; Mohit for the smallest playable
violin and Rohit for the smallest carved
house-fly. In addition to their individual
carvings, they collaborate together on
many of their projects: “All three of us
work together as a team,” Rohit tells us,
and he explains that they list the price of
their pieces from $200-1,700.
One of the unique aspects of the
work that Mahesh and his sons produce
are the pockets that pull out to reveal
tiny figurines and vignettes inside:
“We are the only ones here who make
carvings with miniature scenes in flip out
compartments,” says Rohit. “I like how
surprised people are when I open the
lids and show them these tiny scenes.
They don’t expect something like that.”
Mohit enjoys making the miniature
scenes the best: “I think the addition
of these miniature carvings is most
important to our work because it makes
all of our items more interesting and
attractive.”
Tarkashi
The Jangid family are not only woodcarvers, however, but also skilled
in the art of ’tarkashi’ – inlay work on
wood. In each cubic centimetre of inlaid
work, up to approximately 250 pieces
of metal and wood are laid side by side.
Inlaid articles in the Safavid era took on
a special significance as artists created
their precious artworks. These works
include: doors and windows, mirror
frames, Quran boxes, inlaid boxes, pen
and penholders, lanterns and inlaid
ornamented shrines.
Works
One of the family’s most detailed works
is a village scene, called ‘Ashram’. The
Ashram is a story about Shakuntala,
the story of Dushyanta’s marriage,
separation and reunion with his queen
Shakuntala. The sandalwood miniature
is a completely hand-carved, decorative
item, standing at 460 × 305mm.
Another extremely impressive piece,
is the ‘Rajasthani hand fan’. Again,
made of sandalwood, it is an Indian
implement used to induce an airflow for the cooling purpose. This, however,
like the rest of the family’s work, is a
miniature carved decorative item. The
fan also hides some scenes within the
piece. With small fold-out sections, the
scenes are based on Lord Krishna’s life
story – the peacock on the top gives a
pure Indian look. The tiny scenes consist
of Shri Vashudeva crossing the river to
save baby Krishna’s life, Shri Krishna
eating butter with his brother Balarama
and Shri Krishna dancing on Kalia Nag.
This miniature stands at 510 × 305mm.
The Jharokha, a type of overhanging
enclosed balcony used in Indian
architecture, is only 660 × 710mm.
This type of balcony is typically used
in Rajputana Architecture, Mughal
Architecture and Rajasthani Architecture.
Jharokhas jutting forward from the wall
plane could be used both for adding to
the architectural beauty of the building
itself or for a specific purpose. One of
the most important functions it served
was to allow women in purdah to see
the events outside without being seen
themselves.
When asked what he likes most
about this work, Mahesh replies: “I
enjoy all the carving that we do, but
I would have to say that carving the
‘Rajasthani Doll’ was my most favourite
project. This piece shows the beauty of
the Rajasthani lady with our traditional
jewellery and it tells the story of
Rajasthani freedom fighters.”
Future
If Mahesh was ever concerned that his
sons might not continue on in the family
carving tradition, he can lay those fears
to rest. Both sons say they would not
want to do anything else. Mohit, who
recently completed all of his formal
education, says he plans to stick with
carving: “I will continue to do this work for the rest of my life because carving
has no limits. How much we do and how
far we go is all up to us,” he says. “I like
that we always get to do new things,
new designs, more miniature work, etc. I
would not have this kind of freedom with
any other job. I am absolutely addicted
to my work and so happy that I have the
talent to do this.
contact details :-
Rohit jangid
rohitjangid10@yahoo.com
www.mrhandicrafts.in
Address :- E-216 ram nager near water tank , sodala , jaipur , rajasthan, India , 302019
