Not only did we shift from carefully made miniature Ganesha idols of mud and clay to exhibitionist, ever-expanding statues made of PoP, we also shifted from using organic dyes for colour to using lead and arsenic-based metallic paints. Again, cheaper (on a large scale), easily accessible and in this case, shinier.



These bright, synthetic colours contain heavy metals like lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, zinc oxide and chromium which lead to a decrease in biochemical compounds like oxygen, carbon dioxide, proteins, and lipids in the water, effectively decreasing the life-carrying capacity of water. The brighter the colour (red, blue, orange, green), the higher the toxicity.

And, then there’s the oil, grease and polish used to add that extra Godly factor to the idols.