Pakistani painters who were once active during the election season – Endangered species in the digital age
KARACHI: Last week, Mohammad Irshad whitewashed the walls of a densely populated, low-income neighborhood in southern Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi with a solution of lime and water, then went to work painting them in bright election campaign colors. Ta.
Past elections have been lucrative for painters, walk chokers and poster artists like Irshad, 48, but the advent of digital printing has slowed voting season ahead of the general election scheduled for February 8. At the same time, I am worried about the future.
These days, with less than three weeks until elections, Irshad often sits idle for hours at Naushad Painters, a small shop in Karachi’s Orangi town.
“In the past, we had a lot of work and dominated the field,” he told Arab News, dipping his paintbrush into a tub of red paint.
“I didn’t have much time, but I don’t have much work today. Now, if I have work, I work, but if I don’t, I just sit around.”
For Irshad, who has been painting walls for the past 35 years, the election meant a surge in demand for his craft, spending months painting walls, filling orders for banners and an increase in income. Did.
“Before, we used to draw banners by hand, but now [digital] “Printing is integrated into banner creation,” he said.
“Panaflex” [posters] ‘ has arrived, and along with the progress of the printing work, work related to the flags has also been completed. ”
My income is now meager. Irshad said he earned between 150 and 250 rupees (less than a dollar) from painting the walls, but from that money he also had to buy materials.
“The materials required for this work have become expensive and there is not much savings,” Irshad said.
Although her eldest son often accompanies her to work, she did not want to encourage him to take up this job.
“My children come to the store after school and watch me work,” Irshad added. “But I don’t think they’re inclined to learn or pay attention to this work. I don’t think this work will ever exist.”
But while Irshad grapples with declining demand for his services, other companies, like digital designer and printer Adnan Qaise, are thriving.
“This is the digital age. Big Panaflex hoardings are being fixed, flags are being pasted on power poles, so-called bang branding is happening,” Qaiser said as he finished designing posters for Pakistan Peoples Party candidates. Told. PPP is a popular political party in the southern province of Sindh, whose capital is Karachi.
“For this reason, [our] The entire business has been transferred to Panaflex, [wall chalkers and painters] Work has decreased by almost 10%. ”
Kaiser customer Muhammad Waqas Anwar, 29, said the digital age had changed the campaign process “for the better.”
“Digitization and printing of promotional materials has made our lives easier,” says Anwar. “It lowers costs, saves time, and gives us the freedom to choose from a variety of designs.”