This is a project done jointly by Sadan Jha and Prabhas Ranjan. The project was awarded Independent Research Fellowship by Sarai, CSDS. Below is an entry from the field-diary of Prabhas written in 2003.
Most of the painters, our respondents, perceived us as some kind of surveyor even when we repeatedly tried to convince them that we are not doing any survey and are researching on painters’ life. This perception structured their responses as a polemic against the government ban. Some of them even asked us to convey the message to the government that ‘this ban should be abolished’.
The painters are not a homogenious lot. The nature and demands of the painting sites have made subdivisions in the ‘painting line’, though a person may switch over to one or other as a part time job. A painter who stays at the shop deals in signboards, hoardings ( outlawed now but political hoardings are made). Banners, nameplates. He may also take up glowsigns, print sign, print banner cast letter signboard assignments. AS an average customer does not know where to get these things. Even after getting them he would need someone to fix it. And, in this manner, painters easily fit into the job.
In the case of signboards, the board is made by some of the painters themselves. They buy sheet and wood and get salaried carpenters to frame them. We could not get the actual cost of the board, but it is sold to other painters for Rs.6 to Rs. 18 per sq.feet, depending on the gauge of the sheet. The painter on the other hand sells the painted board to the customer for Rs.12 to Rs. 35. per sq. feet. He uses local made paint for painting ‘ground’(background) that comes for Rs. 90/litre. He writes on it with Asian or Burger paint. Before writing setting ( graphing ) is drawn with the help of chalk and thread. The cost of Asian and Burger paint is Rs.115 to Rs.120/litre.
Rising competition has affected the quality of painted sign boards. With the rate fixed between Rs. 12 to Rs.15 the sheet used is of low gauge. That affects their durability and overall impression in the market.
In summer season it takes one day to complete a sign board. But it does not mean that it needs to be worked on for the whole day. After painting ground ( two rounds with some gap in time) it takes a few more hours to dry.
After it gets dried up, an hour or two is sufficient for writing . However, in the winter or in the rainy season, it takes four days to complete a board.
In comparision to painted board, the printed board is sold around Rs. 30 to Rs.35 / sq feet. A glow light board, the type on which sticker is sticked over plastic board is sold for around Rs. 150 / sq.feet. The price varies with the quality of the plastic. The thinner the plastic the higher is its price. The other type of the glowsign in which non-breakable plastics is used and the whole message is printed on the board itself and sold for Rs. 200 to Rs. 250 / sq feet. However, no painter talked about the actual cost of the printed /glow sign boards. They even do not tell us where from they get the sheets. Perhaps it is one of the closely guarded secrets.
Banner writing is the most paying job. Hence it is here the government policy pinches the most. A written khaki thread banner, that costs around Rs. 10 / sq meter.
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