The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : A life of brilliant hues and dull shades at work

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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

A life of brilliant hues and dull shades at work

Ajai Sreevatsan

— Photo: M.Karunakaran

ADDING COLOUR: Painters brushing up their skills as they colour the landscape.

CHENNAI: The cityscape would look bleak and uninviting without their services. They generate astonishing splashes of colour for some of your basic needs.

Painting buildings might not be the same as artistic expression on a polished surface, but some consider it their profession and revere it as an art. There are over 70,000 painters in the city according to a survey by the Indian Paint Association.

Though they are not too visible, every building and its hue is a mark of their existence. The lack of visibility is because the profession is highly unorganised. Many get into the profession for a temporary period.

“It is not too difficult to learn and it pays a reasonably good starting salary. It is also not as physically exerting as other types of manual labour. That is the reason why many youngsters who have finished their basic schooling get into this profession,” says M. Kumar, a painter.

Painting as a trade exists only because of trust and recommendation. There are no rules or contract terms. “Good character is the only contractual obligation,” says Mr. Kumar. “Conduct is more important than skill when someone rents out their dream home to a group of painters even if it is for a short duration,” he said.

Painting is in many ways an act of patience. As many as seven coats are applied on the walls of a house to give it the proper finishing. Of the seven layers, three are coats of paint.

Each layer of paint that adds gloss to someone’s living space comes at a cost. The solvent base used in paints is toxic and many paints contain heavy metal additives. Asthma and TB are some of the diseases which come as part of the retirement package for many painters.

“Spray painting is especially harmful. There used to be days when my nose bled suddenly after weeks of continuous painting work,” says Mr. Kumar.

But many of them aren’t worried about the harmful effects their profession has on their health. “We are just labourers and this is our livelihood. Every profession has its own risks,” says P. Soolai Rajan. “At the end of a hard day’s work, alcohol can cure any ailment,” he said.

An individual painter on a normal day earns around Rs.350 a day. For many who have no other skill, their future health status is not a concern in comparison to immediate sustenance.

Most individual painters operate in the suburbs. The city is the monopoly of contractors who mostly employ migrant labourers. “They are treated like slaves. They are paid low wages. They are exploited because most don’t know the local language,” says Mr. Rajan.

In the end, a painter’s life is in many ways like his work. Some of their lives are coloured in brilliant hues at least during their working years, while there are others whose lives are tinted in dull pastel shades.

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