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Brush in tow, Puran arrives for Test
He follows the game all around India ? not to watch it but to paint the faces of cricket fans.
He follows the game around in India — not to watch it but to paint the faces of cricket fans. And sure enough Puran has arrived in Mohali too for the India-Pakistan Test match starting from Tuesday!
Puran has a different kind of a passion for the game. He earns his livelihood from painting the faces and accessories of cricket fans outside stadiums all over the country whenever an international series comes around.
Not to miss even a single match, Puran set off from his home in Kolkata early last week to be in hill town Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh where the visiting Pakistan cricket team was playing its warm up match with the Indian Board President's XI.
"The response of spectators there to get faces and hands painted wasn't as great as at other venues," he rued stating that the trip to Dharamshala proved to be a loss-making one.
Puran, however, expects the five-day first Test match to be a revenue grosser for him.
He charges just Rs. 10 for a quick touch of brush to paint an Indian or any other country's flags in small size on the cheeks of spectators.
For every add-on with paint and brush, the charges go up. Charges for painting the whole face were upwards of Rs. 50.
"I use water colours of good quality. These do not cause irritation to the skin and can be easily removed with water," Puran said.
The painter has been going around all venues of international cricket matches for over 15 years now.
His enterprise has no fixed base and he moves among the crowd outside the venues of cricket matches. "Sometimes, I also buy tickets and do my work in the stands inside," he said.
Looking at the spectator enthusiasm for the India-Pakistan Test match and One-Day Internationals, Puran expected good returns in the upcoming series.
