Idukki: In a small workshop at Vandiperiyar in Peerumedu, Vijayarani, a 46 year old woman in a full length homewear, squints at the skeletal frame of a jeep, spray can in one arm and another clutching a part of her dress to avoid tipping over as she moves around. Vijayarani has got busy these days. Her reputation as a vehicle painter is bringing her orders from various parts of the district.
The workshop measuring 600 square feet adjacent to her house can accommodate about four vehicles at a time. The workshop is named after her husband Durai who died in 2023. She picked up the trade from her husband and then self-taught trendy styles like crystal painting from Youtube. A quick learner, Vijayarani's workshop is a trusted place for vehicle buffs who want their jeeps to look stylish.
Jeeps, trucks and two-wheelers are lined up here and even from outside Idukki, people come with vehicles for painting. Her son Nishanth is a bike mechanic who is skilled in doing denting work and alteration. Vijayarani is mostly into painting, a skill she loves.''After the death of my father, my mother shared the idea of running the workshop . She is not interested to work in cardamom plantation. She only knows painting and she is good at it,'' said Nishanth.
Vijayarani reaches the workshop at 9 am for work and it goes on till 6pm. ''There are many jeeps in Thekkady and Vandiperiyar to show tourist places around here. Most of these vehicles are brought to me for painting. They trust me with this job,'' said Vijayarani. Vijayarani is known for her experiments in painting. A 2012 model jeep has been given a fresh coat of crystal paint which she has learnt from watching videos.
T K Binu, a native of Kumali, was the first to give the jeep for crystal painting. ''I handed over my vehicle to Vijayarani with confidence. She knows her job. It feels good when people look at your vehicle in appreciation of the design,'' said Binu.
The idea of crystal painting dawned on her from a painting she saw on a bike. She tried it on his son's scooter with the help of YouTube videos.
Later it was done on fuel tanks of selected parts of bikes and scooters. Crystal painting requires a lot of painstaking work. First the body of the vehicle is applied with putty and smoothened with water paper. Then after the base coat is done, the color required by the customer is applied. Then comes the process of crystal formation. The liquid used to form the crystal is poured over the body of the vehicle and the vehicle is exposed to sunlight. Liquid crystal forms and a black paint is given on top of the layer. The final task includes polishing this surface with water paper and applying a clear coat.
