The heat is taking its toll on all of us. From the time we wake up from our sweat-soaked pillows to the moment we crawl back into bed with our depleted energies, the day almost seems like a slow march on a desert dune. Children sit under oppressive ceiling fans in classrooms that once used to be shut for summer. The streets are filled with people burdened by the scorching sun. Tempers rise in high-rise office buildings. Road rage seems inevitable.
Yes, the heat is certainly taking its toll. There is, however, one particular species in the human race that has miraculously remained untouched by the vagaries of the weather. The politician.
It is election time. While the common man tries to remain indoors as much as possible, this lot of aspiring leaders sets out in the blistering heat, traversing every street, imploring citizens to cast their golden votes in their favour. The promise of power is temptation enough to withstand the searing temperature! Their actual presence may be temporary but they leave behind scattered reminders of their existence so that we are never spared from forgetting their quest to reign. These larger than life cutout reminders loom over us from streets that still reverberate the beating drums of political chants, long after the moon has settled in the dark sky.
The cutout culture started off in 18th-century Britain, as political cartoons that were printed and displayed in shop windows. This visual propaganda with strong political messages could be easily understood even by the illiterate public. Over time, political aspirants were consumed by the urge to be larger than these tiny posters and soon, banners were used to display these political figures which eventually evolved into cutouts of those with administrative power. As the years progressed, so did the size of these cutouts.
In India, we have always co-existed with monumental fabricated representations of our politicians with folded hands and bright smiles, dotting our skylines. Historically, they were painted by artists on gigantic plywood sheets that measured up to 50-60 feet at times.
Borrowing from the tradition of handpainted cinema hoardings, this practice was very popular especially in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the two states in South India where many politicians transitioned from being highly successful movie stars to political leaders. The mega-sized handpainted cutouts gave them the heroic status that they were used to. Artists who made cinema hoardings were employed, and using projectors to sketch outlines, they then handpainted the details, sometimes taking days to complete it. The cutouts were so in vogue that fans showered their love on their idols by garlanding them.
With the advent of technology, these painstakingly handpainted cutouts were replaced by digitally printed flex banners and in the past decade, LED cutouts of our political leaders have been lighting up our public spaces. Rajkamal Arts, one of the last companies that painted cutouts, shut shop years ago and today, this practice has been relegated to a bygone era. Hand-painted cutouts may be a relic from the past now, but it is worthwhile to remember that these artists once helped build political careers with their imposing images.