That's Ayub Momin for you, a hoarding painter, whose work place is amongst the clouds, and whose work tools create big names!

Working with a local advertising agency as a figure and lettering painter, Momin has been in this line of work for over 25 years now - ever since he left school. Fond of painting since his childhood (``I even got a certificate for the subject in my school!''), he followed his brother's footsteps into the work of painting hoardings and signboards. He has not known another metier since then.

``I took it up initially because of a keen interest in the work. Over the years, the interest has waned, and now it is primarily because of a lack of anything else to do that I continue. But yes, painting is in my blood, and I can never completely tire of my work,'' he says candidly.

Starting out as an assistant to other painters, holding the can of paint while they painted, applying the first coat of paint while they added the final touches, Momin has now graduated to become a master of the art and has now developed figure painting as his forte. All this sans any formal training, equipped with just an intrinsic flair for the art.

``One board generally requires one complete day, and we do about 20 a month. The lettering adjustment is the hassle, for every little alteration, the board has to be wiped clean. The figure painting is not such a problem, though people do wonder how we can achieve the likeness of different people on the board in those huge dimensions! But that's our craft,'' he smiles.

Explaining how a hoarding finally gets its final dash of colour, Momin elaborates, ``The painter gets a paper copy of the design that has to be replicated on the hoarding. This copy is divided into units of measurements that are maximised. For example, a two-centimetre square on the paper is enlarged into a two-feet square on the board. This is what helps us draw such huge hoardings''.

Momin says that earlier the paper drawings would be prepared by commercial artists, while now it is mostly done on the computer. ``This makes our job more tricky, as you can do just about anything on the PC,'' he says. ``The type sheet, the company's monogram - all that is provided to us. The fun part is when you have to do human faces or items like cars. My personal favourite is a 120 by 20 feet board we did at the Regal Hotel with a 22-feet half-figure of Sachin Tendulkar. Then there have been others like that of Kader Khan for a gutkha advertisement and cut-outs for rallies''.

But how they do get up there to do the painting? On bamboo frameworks, comes the reply. ``This is already readied for us. It is difficult, especially for newcomers. But now we are used to it. With one hand we hold one of the rods, and sit with one knee across it. You can't fall off, the only way accidents can happen is if the bamboos, that are tied to each other, snap. But yes, you do have to be careful about the sun and rain''.

Admitting that he would like to move on and paint and have a display of his work, he smiles wryly... ``But I do make portraits of my neighbours, since I can draw well. That's the only way you can enjoy this job. If the paint and brushes are your favourite tools, only then can you hang around.'' And so saying, he picks up his can of paints, two-feet ruler, chalks and gets back to his world of images that are larger than life.