By Brij Khandelwal, IANS,
Agra : How times have changed! From an engaging annual spring cleaning ritual — ironically in the autumn of Diwali — white-washing or painting of homes has become an onerous exercise and a diminishing tradition.
There was a time when around Diwali the entire household would get busy getting rid of ‘kabadi’ or unusable clutter, polishing wood and painting the walls. The exercise would go on for days — with unflagging enthusiasm.
Not so now.
“Kids don’t like to get involved in this chore, many are allergic to dust, labour is expensive and paint material beyond the purchasing capacity of most middle class families,” senior school teacher and home-maker Meera Gupta told IANS.
“We were taught by elders that Laxmiji, goddess of wealth, visited only homes that were clean and shining,” she said. “These days people have no time.”
The mind-set has changed. “Not so long ago, this annual exercise in most homes was a collective effort, and provided opportunities for creative expression too,” says old-timer Surendra Sharma.
“As kids we were so excited about painting our rooms and walls,” Sharma reminsced. “White limestone powder was used to even disinfect the house and kill smaller mosquitoes after the rains.”
These days, painting and white-washing activity goes on round the year. The ritualistic dimension is getting diluted, says Sudhir Gupta, financial consultant from the Vijay Nagar colony.
“With most families now shifting to flats and society apartments, maintenance and upkeep is the responsibility of the colonisers now,” Gupta explained. “Also the change in the preferences of paints has reduced the need for annual white-washing.”
Belanganj paint supplier Arun Kumar agrees.
“Earlier most houses used limestone (Safedi) with some colour mixed, mostly blue. Later, some experimented by mixing zinc powder and Fevicol with Safedi for better effect. Then came distempers, slightly more expensive but durable,” he said.
“The current trend is oil paints, oily distemper colours, enamels and mixed colours,” he added. “With the size of the homes now reduced and cement replacing choona or mud (peeli-mitti) in construction, white washing no longer works.”
Oil paints need skilled workers who are in short supply, not just in the in the festival season, but even at other times for they are contracted by apartment builders.
“The only people available for white washing at the Belanganj, Fountain and the Lohamandi labour markets are landless labourers from the rural areas,” timber supplier Mukesh Mittal told IANS.
“Their competence level is nil. But white washing with limestone Safedi does not require much skill; so they manage to find work. The going rate at the moment is Rs 300 a day for a shift of six to eight hours,” he added.
“Looking back, I remember the days of white-washing when the whole house was involved, from seniors to little kids,” home-maker Padmini said. “So much trash was disposed of. Once when we were pulling out boxes, a huge snake came out.”
She recalled the habit of old women of collecting boxes, bottles and such stuff, hoping they would be used some day. “But that day never came,” she said. “These days few houses have store rooms or spare space to dump all the unused stuff.”
“In the larger families, there would always be one person considered an expert in mixing colours and making new shades,” entrepreneur Ved Gautam of Shamshabad road in Agra said.
“Our uncle used to bring white paint and a whole lot of colours with turpentine oil, varnish, sand paper and brushes. The exercise went on for days,” he said. “The whole house smelled of paints and varnish.”
Normally, the Indian paint industry is dependent on the Diwali season, when up to 40 percent business is conducted, according to paint shop owner Satish ji. This year late rains reduced the season by a good one month.
Paint supplier Murai Lal Goyal said the shortage of labour has also affected the sale of paints this season.
In the old city areas, Safedi continues to remain high in demand; new colonies are opting for distempers and oil paints. Distemper pouches are also in big demand, said shopkeeper Deepak Agarwal.
“The use of Sikri or Dholpur stone tiles is now widespread,” REDCO president K.C. Jain said. “They have reduced dependence on oil paints.”
However, the need for maintenance remains.
“From an annual ritual, white washing and painting have become a round-the-year exercise, according to convenience and affordability,” he said.
(Brij Khandelwal can be contacted at [email protected])