The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Ban paints bleak picture for graffiti artists

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 26, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Ban paints bleak picture for graffiti artists

D.V.L Padma Priya

Ban apart, the entry of flexi boards has adversely affected painters this political season

HYDERABAD: They can’t paint the town red with slogans and appeals for vote and the continuing ban on graffiti apart, neo-publicity tools such as hoardings and flexi boards has left wall painters in lurch and unsure about their livelihood this political season.

“Earlier we would earn at least Rs.600-1,000 per day during elections. We would be hired by local parties to paint graffiti,” says Lakshmaiah from Nalgonda district adding that the recent ban on hoardings has again raised their hopes. “Maybe now, the parties would go back to using hand-painted cloth banners,” says a hopeful Lakshmaiah, who now depends on screen-printing to make ends meet.

And then there are others like Giridhar who cashed in on their skill even before the code of conduct was put in place. “I painted walls in the suburbs,” he says. Compared to hoardings, painting on walls is a much cheaper option, he says adding, “Not only is it cheap but the same artists can be later roped in to whitewash the buildings or walls after the elections.”

Flexi boards

Sagar of Sagar Arts in Chikkadpally says the ban has left many like him to depend on painting signboards or cloth banners. “With the entry of flexi boards, the artists were already adversely affected,” he says. “Even signboard painting for shops has come down now as the plastic digital banners are preferred,” he laments.

Mounting work

Ashok, a painter-turned-contractor from the city says that most artists have now taken up ‘mounting’ work. “We charge Rs.1 for every poster that we stick and Rs.10 for every hoarding that we put up,” he says. “Due to recession, the number of companies opting for hoardings has come down a lot. We hoped that the election season would make things better, but that also didn’t materialise because of the ban,” he says. Earlier, his group earned close to Rs.1,000 to1,200 each per day. “Now, we earn just about Rs.500 for the mounting work,” he says.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh