Painted or unpainted?

Yesterday I was driving into town and, as I passed through Aranguez/Barataria backroads, there was a pick up truck driving in front of me with an Indian man sitting in the back, holding something ornate, draped in red cloth. I absently wondered what it was, but it wasn't until I got closer to their bumper (when they had stopped behind another car) that I realised it was a statue of the elephant god, Lord Ganesh, the remover of obstacles. As I continued driving behind the truck, I thought about what the god signified and it symbolically felt as though they were clearing a path along the road for me. They eventually turned left at the Food Giant roundabout and I turned right to go over Lady Young, feeling thankful, as though 'the way' really had been cleared and as though I was meant to see that.

I remember that as a small child I was scared of the statues of Hindu deities. Not scared in the sense that I would run screaming when I saw them ... but they made me feel uneasy. I don't know why. Could have been because of something I was told about them. Could have been because of their colourful, unmoving faces, some with frozen smiles. Could have been the result of a visit to a place which was dark and had the statues all crowded around, seemingly staring at me (I have a vague recollection of such a thing, but can't remember where that was).

I don't know what eventually made me 'unscared' of them. They no longer have the effect on me that they did in childhood, but I think I generally am not fond of painted statues in general - even the white decorative ones that are out in gardens or the ones that are seen in Catholic churches. Not that I hate them, but if I were to choose a statue for anything it would be unpainted and raw.

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Elspeth