They slog away to deck up venues of rallies

With parties pressed for time, decorators work under pressure to finish their job.

Unmindful of the long hours in the scorching heat, stage decorators these days are tirelessly working to turn ordinary sites to venues fit for a carnival.

From decorating a site with colourful arches, political flags and banners to setting up huge posters, banners of party leaders and sets, they meticulously design and beautify venues of political meetings.

Though there are hundreds of decorators here, only a handful take up orders to decorate rally venues.

The reason? The hard work and skill required to get the job done in a short span of time. But they do get compensated well for that. During the election season, political meetings account for 20 per cent of their usual business.

Yogam Ravi of Ashok Nagar has been in the trade for over 40 years. “Many political parties are keen to ensure safety for the audience. This time, several of them are avoiding the pompous style of decorations to abide by the norms laid by the Election Commission,” he says.

While political parties prefer banners of their leaders to adorn the backdrop, this time most are avoiding elaborate sets and tents in open spaces, which contribute to nearly 50 per cent of the expenditure.

Some decorators, however, note that if the poll panel allows a concession for tents in summer, the crowd attending rallies will benefit.

But, how have things changed over the years? Stage designs and preferences for other components such as lighting and audio systems have undergone numerous changes over the past few years, say people in this business

Recalling the meetings held in the 1980s, Mr. Ravi says that stages used to be created using plywood and casuarina poles. Now, parties prefer iron frames so that the dais can withstand more weight.

“We use branded audio systems, mostly imported from China for clarity and ensure that the steps to the stage are wide enough to allow many people to board them.”

The choice of furniture, too, has changed — wooden and steel chairs were used earlier — to plastic chairs for audience and plush sofas for the leaders. Some political parties also ask for pompous posters and sets to captivate the audience.

Since the work involves hard labour and not much time is available to the decorators, some firms allow others to work under a sub-contract.

Says G. Vivek of Velachery, who recently did decoration work for a meeting in Saidapet: “We can source furniture, prepare the stage and lighting in a day. We find it hard to find labourers who are willing to work through the night.”