"A Jangoo that dies is a library that burns," African proverb revisited masala sauce. On May 5, 2019, in Mumbai, a legend left us, but legends are eternal. Dr. Jehangir A.Kohiyar aka "Jangoo", a psychoanalyst from a wealthy Parsian family* and father of modern tattooing in India exhaled his last breath at the age of 83. I have had the good fortune and the great pleasure of meeting him 3 times. The first two occasions were in February 2010, when I was just embarking on this book project on tattooing in India: "L’Inde sous la peau (India under the skin)". Then I met him again in April 2016, a few months before the publication of the book for which Jangoo took the pen to write the preface. Gift of life. During these 7 years we have also exchanged via internet. Recently I found a 20-minute interview I did with Jangoo when we first met, in February 2010, an interview that fell at the bottom of a drawer, little forgotten treasure. Jehangir A. Kohiyar, a psychoanalyst foremost, was a gentleman of national and international historical importance and I can not resign myself to keep his writings and words for me. So I take the keyboard to revive a few moments (and I hope even longer) this unique and very singular character that was Mister Jangoo. Here is, quite briefly, a bit of his unique life, from his first tattooing emotions when he was only 7 years old, until today, about 75 years later, a large number of years marked with the seal of the epidermal inking art. * parsi : religious minority of Zoroastrian obedience originally from Iran which, under pressure from Muslim invasions, migrated to India from the 8th century AD. Today's largest Parsian Indian community is found in Mumbai.
Birth of a passion Born July 14, 1935, Jangoo spent his Indian life in the very Victorian neighborhood of Fort. During our exchanges and in the preface of my book, the doctor mentioned his first tattoos emotions several times : « … I was only about 9 years old, when I got interested in it. ». He goes across his distant memories and remembers that « … in Bombay (as it was then called), tattooing was made by some 3 artists who sat on the roadside, with their design sheets spread out on the pavement in front of them. » In an internet message he also reported to me : « When I was about 7 years old, there was a tattoo shop close to where I lived (street tattooer 1). It was more like a cupboard on the wall of a building than an actual shop. I could not wander around at that young age, but my Mom used to buy Dry Fruits from a shop at the front of the same building, and I would take the opportunity of shopping around the corner, to watch the British soldiers getting tattooed. One day there were no customers, and the tattoo artist got hold of me and said...in very good English... You're always hanging around my shop, I am going to tattoo you. Scared out of my wits, I never went back there till some 5 years later, only to find the shop...gone! The British soldiers had left in 1945. »
Memories of yesteryear Regarding his childhood memories, Jangoo also evoked the flashes of his early years, when Bombay hosted many British soldiers ... : « This is how tattoos were made in the war days. They kept small sheets like these of this size and mainly they were sailor designs : anchors, ships, mermaids and naked girls …… and a few Indian gods …… These were the designs during the war days that soldiers wore here, the British. They were the main customers for the tattoo shop, and the few tattoo artists were very busy at that time. But it was still not like a proper shop. Actually there were 1 or 2 shops and it is after the British left that it became completely down on the roadside. »
1953 – 1969 : The London years In 1953, at age 17, he went to study medicine in London, « … and it was only in about 1967, when I saw the work of Ron Ackers, did I realize that it had the potential of being creative. » This meeting with his English mentor was crucial : « … I first started tattooing with this tattooist in London. He was an artist called Ron Ackers, and the first time I saw a good unusual tattoo was worked down by him …… I went to England to study medecine and just as a hobby I got friendly with this tattoo artist who told me : « On days when I am busy why don’t you do the colouring and the shading ? » so I used to help him with that. ». Referring to the pain generated by the sting of the tattoo, he added : « Ron who taught me tattooing in England always used to say : « It hurts just enough to make it worthwhile .» Sometimes it’s unpleasant, sometimes it’s pleasant but then as Ron used to say : « If tattoo didn’t hurt, nobody would make them. » There is a little truth in it ……»
1969 : Back to Bombay In 1969, after 16 years in England, Jangoo ceased all inking activity to focus on his new medical activity : « I never came back thinking that I would do any tattooing » But five years later « … The thought of trying my hand at it, slowly grew into an urge, despite the fact that it was deemed to be part of a subculture. » The artistic dimension was very important to his decision to go back to it, but not only. There was also the health aspect, the few street tattooists in then Bombay worked in dirty conditions, as still today for those who practice on the dusty ground of cities and melas (mela : pilgrimages, large religious gatherings) : « They used to sit and work in the fair. They used to use the same needles, dipped in the same bottle of ink for forty, fifty different customers. Of course one could tell them about viruses, AIDS was not around in those days but viruses, hepathitis or local infections were there. But these people didn’t have electricity, they used to work on a battery operated machine so it was not possible to buy an autoclave for them. » Dr. Kohiyar approached these street tattooists to give them some advices, to improve their street practice as much as possible, and that's how he met Gunwant Dorwekar, one of these street tattoo artists having practiced for years in various festivals across Maharashtra, before finally settling in Mumbai. Gunwant was the father of Vishwas Dorwekar who now works at Hakim Aalim's a very chic hair salon in Bandra (upscale district of Mumbai). Jangoo often met Gunwant. In a Times of India publication dated April 7, 1990, there is an article dedicated to Gunwant Dorwekar and street tattoo artists : « … It was not so difficult when Dorwekar, now 47, started his career in 1955. « I learnt this family art from my father and did my first tattoo when I was 13, at a jatra (jatra : Indian folk theater form), on the forearm of a village woman. I wasn’t nervous at all because I had grown up watching tattoos being made. » Those days the Dorwekar family used to travel all over rural Maharashtra, stopping by at village fairs to cater for the wide demand for tattoos. Occasionally, they would come to Bombay during the annual Bandra Fair and make some money. In 1984, lured by the offer of a permanent room to live in as a caretaker of the water works, Dorwekar shifted to Bombay.. »
Jangoo the guru Along with his medical profession, Jangoo returned to tattooing five years after his return from England. He imported U.S machines, inks and an autoclave, and every Saturday his doctor's office turned into a tattoo parlor ... « We went from simple line drawings of ships and anchors, to dragons, and snakes. … Not having either the time, or the ability to make our own designs, I used to get art students from the local Art colleges » And that's how his path crossed that of Anil Gupta, then a student at the famous J.J school of Art in Mumbai. They worked together for two years, at the end of the seventies, a period during which Anil Gupta exchanged his pens for the machine. … « I was not myself good at drawing, and I used to get students from the Art School to come draw for me on Saturdays. That is how I met Anil Gupta, and he is the one who made the color drawing I sent you (to see in my book « L’Inde sous la peau »). The ideas were mine, and the drawings were done by him. He could draw anything freehand. If I wanted to reduce or increase the size of a design by xerox, he would do it freehand in less time than it woud take to go down to the xerox shop. » About his first student, Anil, he also reported to me : « One of the first artists to draw for me was Anil Gupta, who later learned tattooing. Within minutes of using the machine, he said « I don’t want to draw on paper now, this is a lot more exciting! » » And indeed…years later, he settled in New-York, and went on to become one of the best tattoo artists in the world! He is still a good friend! » Dr. Kohiyar was the inspiration and the adviser of many young apprentice tattoo artist (Vikas Malani, Al Alva, Kevin Andrade ...) but he took only 3 seriously in apprenticeship: Anil Gupta, then Sameer Patange and finally Krishna (Rameshwar Chothe). All of them have become good tattoo artists. Anil Gupta now has his own tattoo parlour in New-York, Inkline studio. The second was Sameer Patange. Then Jangoo, after putting his machines in the closet for a few years, resumed teaching. The third and last of his students was Krishna who spent about eight years with Jangoo (Saturdays only, 2008 - 2016). Today Krishna tattoos at Happy Tattoos in the district of Bhandup - Mumbai.
An artist's life in the shadow of a pseudonym The doctor kept his tattooing activity under cover for a long time : « I never thought I would come here and work, do any tattoo but when I saw the conditions of tattoos I thought : « Let me do something better » but customers were slow to come and being a doctor I never advertised…….. », and further in the interview : « I don’t know what they said to you about me but now I got a surprise. They call me « The father of tattooing in India », others « the grand-father of tattooing in India ». I never set out for that. I’ve been always quiet about it because tattooing had a bad name in those days, and I was a doctor so I didn’t want to advertise and have a website. All my customers came by word of mouth. For a doctor, making tattoos, in those days was taboo. A doctor could have been thrown out of a hospital because he made a tattoo. In the sixties - seventies it was very very taboo, part of a sub-culture. Only soldiers, sailors, criminals, gypsys, the labouring class as well, made tattoos …… » …. « At that time it was popular with boys from Bandra and Vakola, mainly Christian boys (photo 06) and boys working in the hotels. They didn’t mind showing their tattoos. Of course at work they didn’t show them, but the Brit boys showed them because they worked with foreigners and it was part of their culture. » In the preface of "L’Inde sous la peau", Jangoo comes back to his position as a « man of the shadow » : « Rather naively, I continued to think that even now not many people knew about it! I wrote articles on the subject, but always used a pseudonym! ». Indeed for several years he maintained an important correspondence with many tattooists from various countries (including the tattooist Cliff Raven, and certain tattooists passing through Bombay were going to meet him, including Felix Leu. Of these various experiences Jangoo wrote articles for American tattoo magazines ... under pseudonym, always.
New fashion – New world Dr. Kohiyar was a unique and extraordinary witness-actor of the urban tattoo scene in India. From an obscure and stigmatized practice, in a few years, it has grown in a few years to a trendy and very expensive practice... « In those early days I was getting 20 rupees a tattoo and customers were even bargaining for that. Now in some of the big shops they are charging 15.000, 20.000. Big prices. » And he closes the preface of my book "L’Inde sous la peau" by these words : « As the artists improved, the better work brought a better clientele, rich kids, models and movie stars, and…suddenly, in a couple of decades, tattooing went from being sub-culture to being up-market (and… very expensive). » Happy life - Happy ending The doctor was nevertheless happy to see the expansion of this art ... « I had started Tattooing in about 1974, and for about 20 years I was the only tattoo artist in Mumbai (not counting the 2-3 roadside artists). Today I am told by Nadeem Battiwalla, the local supplier that he has sold some 5000 kits, and in his estimate there are some 400 tattoo shops in Mumbai alone! » Jangoo will have finally been recognized for his work, he will have been able to enjoy it for a few moments and revel in it : « Imagine my surprise, and my joy, when I walked into the First Indian Tattoo Exhibition, and…as I walked past the booths, every artists there…most of whom I had never seen before, stopped working, took off their gloves, shook hands with me, and asked to have their photos taken with me. » Today, while Jangoo surely tattoos angels (or, according to Anil Gupta, psychoanalysis them ... laughs), India still respectful of its elders and its ancestors can burn some incense and recite some mantras in his honor. Jangoo well deserved. And, for someone who has never been tattooed, his name will leave an indelible mark on the world of tattoo history. Jai Jangoo !!! (Long live to Jangoo)
Jangoo & the Leu family We cannot close this tribute to Doctor Kohiyar without mentioning the relationship of friendship between Jangoo and the Leu family. Doctor Kohiyar played an important role for this family. When the Leu family first arrived in India in the late 1970s Felix was not a tattoo artist although he had been initiated by Jock of King's Cross in London. To support his family, Félix thought that tattooing was the solution. While the family had settled in Goa, Felix went to meet Dr Kohiyar in Mumbai, who helped them get started. In my book "India under the skin" to which Loretta contributed in 2016, she writes : « We were not the only ones tattooing in Goa. Aside from Soma Garbi, there was Gippi Rondinella from Rome, our neighbor. There was also another itinerant tattoo artist, Paco El Vasco. He and Gippi introduced us to Dr. Jangoo Kohiyar, a psychoanalyst and tattoo artist from Bombay. » In a 2011 email, she also wrote to me : «The doctor was very welcoming with foreign tattoo artists passing through Bombay. He was also often in contact (by correspondence) with the best American, Japanese and European tattooists of the time. There was a lot of news and information exchange. The doctor generously gave us copies of many documents that helped us a lot in tattooing. We have always been very grateful to him. » Once back in Europe, Filip, the eldest of Felix and Loretta's four children, wanted to get into tattooing too. So Felix asked him to go on a world tour with his sister Ama. They returned to India and one of the first steps was to go see Doctor Kohiyar again. For the purposes of my book, Loretta sent me and authorized to use photos from their personal collection, as well as two articles by Felix published in Tattoo Life in 2001. In one of the photos, we can see Filip, 18 years at the time, and Doctor Kohiyar by his side. Surrounding them, a group of Indians including Anil Gupta. When in April 2016 I saw Doctor Kohiyar again in the company of the two Malani brothers (Photo 22), Vikas and Micky, the latter came to offer Jangoo the book "The art of the Leu family" that Filip had given him at the London convention in 2015. Back in Mumbai, Micky Malani was to hand it over to Jangoo, a mark of respect and affection from the Leu family for this incredible character, father of modern tattooing in India. In an article written by Felix Leu in 2001 and published in Tattoo Life, he recounts : « Before I come to the end of this part of my article, Dr. Kohiyar, a renowned and wellrespected psychiatrist in Bombay, deserves a special mention when looking at India’s electric tattooing history. The good doctor has been tattooing professionally as Tattoo Jangoo since the early 70’s. Every working day at 5 p.m. he shuts his medical cabinet and changes his office into a modern tattoo studio. Jangoo has always been the Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde of the tattoo world for me. FELIX LEU »
Anil Gupta’s tribute to Jangoo I owe Dr. Kohiyar my heartly gratitude, as he had been a primordial proponent of my evolution, as a tattoo artist. I vividly recall when I met Dr. Kohiyar for the first time around 1981-82. I was uncertain and raw at best. Dr. Kohiyar who I sometimes addressed as ‘Doc’ or ‘Jangoo’, depending on his mood. His fatherly and teacherly persona was not only encouraging but inspiring me to take-up the challenge of tattooing as an enthusiastic activity. Had it not been Jangoo’s open mindedness and generosity, I would’ve remained just a weekend ‘prep artist’. I made Rs. 25 for a full day’s work and was more than thrilled to earn a whopping Rs. 50 for a 2 day weekend, enabling me to buy used art books, lunch money and a movie ticket, mostly Western/American. For couple of years, I earned my pocket money this way, as a struggling art student. I consider myself fortunate to have been initiated by Doc’s professor like jargon and foundational terminology. To a novice like me, the realm of tattooing was vague and the language, a bit esoteric. Jangoo’s light hearted and witty humor, kept me from getting bogged down with information overload that was hurling my way hyper-frequently. I was fascinated and intimidated by the infinite number of factors that I was asked to administer, while sustaining mindfulness of this art/craft, before – during – after the tattooing process. Thanks to the comprehensive guidance and encouragement by Jangoo, I tapped into artsy-craftsy proficiency expeditiously. I was working with him for a little over six months, and invariably mentioned my inclination towards doing oil paintings, but couldn’t, due to lack of funds for art material. I was too shrewd and reluctant to ask my father any aid towards my personal endeavors (that is another story). One fine day, as I arrived to work, I saw a huge brown paper package waiting for me, as Jangoo smiled and said, « Today you will paint ». That was my first knife oil painting. My last visit to Dr. Kohiyar was in 2017. As I hugged this frail and weak old man, I had this eerie feeling that this might be the last meeting. I was astonished to see this very knife oil painting still hung prominently with pride in his living room. It was a colossal effort to balance the feeling of happiness as my voice chocked in tears. The example of love, respect, commitment and seriousness that this man had shown, transcends any and all tangibility that was extended towards me by my then immediate family. I walked downstairs after this meeting with Sameer and Neelam who read into all that, which added so much to my tender and personal experience. Walking downstairs from Jangoo’s apartment, I was already feeling a sense of remorse and great loss and overcame by decades old euphoria and realization of Dr. Kohiyar’s enormous contribution towards my artistic evolution.
Three books to go a little further: "L'Inde sous la peau" (also in Ebook at www.godispop.com) and "Street Tattoo Flash of India" by Stéphane Guillerme (to get it, same website), and "Felix Leu" by Loretta Leu (In English at SeedPress)
Photos from the Stephane Guillerme books, « L’inde sous la peau » et « Street tattoo flash de l’inde »
