Making a monumental mistake

Murals have long adorned the insides of the Meenakshi temple in Madurai. But interior and exterior surfaces are increasingly being given bright coats of enamel paint, risking damage tothe stones beneath.

- Rachel Lopez

Sometimes, a dose of colour is exactly what Indian heritage doesn’t need.

Kaustav Sengupta, a fashiontrend analyst and colour researcher, has been noticing a disturbing trend over the past decade. Stone temples, some more than 800 years old, are getting coats of bright, shiny paint, in misguided attempts to protect or embellish the structure.

“Look at old and more recent photos of the Meenakshi temple in Madurai and the Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram,” Sengupta says. Those exteriors weren't always colourful. The layers of paint have been added recently, for decoration. This wasn’t traditionally part of our religious practice. And temples are suffering as a result.”