THE RAFFUGHAR

While obediently following his parents’ dreams of chasing for a medical school seat, a young boy was fascinated by a painter’s brush. Finally, when he talked about his desires, the family threw a canvas before him. Within years he emerged with Raffughar, a new upmarket Kashmir brand, reports Khalid Bashir Gura

- Khalid Bashir Gura

More than three decades ago, a little boy would routinely linger around signboard painters and watch keenly how they moved brushes, choose colours and created designs. Now, Wajahat Hussain Rather, 39, is a Delhi-based designer, known more for his label, Raffughar. With specialisation in textiles, Rather is an Associate Professor at Pearl Academy in New Delhi.

Rather has the routine story that almost every second young man in Kashmir has – his parents encouraged him to study science after he passed his matriculation. But averse to become a doctor, he wanted to be a painter.

“Initially I used to sketch portraits and draw paintings. I continued to be rewarded and encouraged at various competitions,” Rather said. His parents had other plans. They would consider his painting and sketching pursuits as his hobbies, at the best, or timewasting pursuits, to the worst. “My elder brother is an engineer and they wanted me to become a doctor.” He had no option but to oblige his parents.

After passing his twelfth, Rather summoned the courage to tell his parents about his painting dreams. “It was a shock for them and initially they were unable to come to terms with it. It was not their fault as we are conditioned to think about professions in a stereotypical way,” he said.

RARE PERMISSION

Somehow, he was granted permission. First, he studied painting. Soon, he started pursuing education in design. He enrolled in a Jammu Institute for a degree in fine arts.

He specialized in painting and simultaneously spent hours in the library studying art and was engrossed effortlessly in art books. There, he found his mentor, Padamshri Rajinder Kumar Tiku, a renowned sculptor, a Kashmiri migrant Pandit who guided him to reach where he is today.