Sandalwood Carving

The legacy continues...

Mohit Jangid : Sandalwood Carving Artist

Born in 1992 into a family of miniature sandal- wood carvers in Jaipur, Rajasthan, Sandalwood Carving Artist Mohit Jangid is the 4th Generation of a Wood Carving Dynasty having 11 Nationally Acclaimed Awards. Passionate about his craft since a young age, Mohit chose it as his vocation with a belief to manifest infinite creativity as opposed to joining the customary job market with a guaranteed remuneration. His forte lies in delicacy and an eye for minute detailing of the sandal- wood miniature craft.

"THE SOCIAL JIGSAW" Magazine Interview Highlights

  • Q. Tell us more about stories that are portrayed in your work?

    We always try to portray a story in our artwork rather than just simply carving a piece out
    of wood. We also customise stories as per the customer’s wish.
    We have carved the traditional Rajasthani Doll which depicts the clothing and jewellery worn by Rajasthani women in older times, the various compartments inside her dress describe stories like Queen Padmini’s act of self-immolation to protect her honour, Prithviraj Chauhan’s blinded victory through archery; Sword depicting scenes from the life of Maharana Pratap Singh; Krishna Pankhi or Fan showing blissful scenes from the life of Lord Krishna; the Royal Veena or Sitar illustrating life story of the great musician, Mian Tansen besides other mythological elements carved on it; the Wooden Box carved with elephant or peacock and captivating stories, and the list continues...

  • Q. You are carrying on the legacy of sandalwood carving in your family. please shed some light on it.

    The practice of carving on sandalwood is centuries old. Our family traces its roots of wood carving back to the Mughal era like carving on various woods such as walnut, teak, etc. based on the accessibility and demand. History for us, is the beginning of this tradition of miniature carving on sandalwood by our great grandfather, Shri Malchand Ji Kalakar. Our family has been involved in this craft since four generations. As our entire family including my great grandfather, grandfather, uncles, and my father specialise in this skill, we (the 4th generation) acquired this skill quite spontaneously while playing as kids.

    Famous for carving these artefacts, my great grandfather was also famous as Malji Badamwala who used to make openable badams or almonds portraying various Hindu gods & goddesses. We are also known as the Churuwale Kalakar (the artisans from Churu, having moved from Churu to Jaipur) for carving artefacts having secret openable compartments depicting various scenes of Indian culture and mythology.

  • Q. Which object do you like to carve on?

    I Like to Carve on Sandalwood. The sandalwood we use comes mainly from South India but it can be sourced from Jaipur via many suppliers who make its availability easier, Sandalwood is a fragrance wood. Moreover, the oil content in sandalwood is more compared to other wood. Therefore, the detailing and finishing of artefacts carved out of sandalwood is much finer in relation to those carved out of other wood