Who is Ganesh? Hindus worship a number of different deities, one
of which is Ganesh. Depicted with a large belly, the head of an
elephant and four arms, Ganesh is regarded as a remover of
obstacles and god of success. As Karl-Heinz Golzio from the
Indology Department at the University of Bonn, Germany,
explains: “People often pray to Ganesh if, for instance, they
have an exam coming up.” But they also ask Ganesh for his
blessing for weddings and business activities. According to
myth, Ganesh got his elephant head after Lord Shiva cut off his
old head in a fit of anger. Shiva promised to bring him back to
life and give him the head of the next living creature to cross
his path. As we all know, this ended up being an elephant. In
Hinduism there are other myths surrounding Ganesh’s elephant
head. Ganesh is one of the most popular deities as he represents
many positive things. The religious ritual performed by Hindus,
known as Puja, always begins with a prayer to Ganesh. How is
Ganesh Chaturthi celebrated? Ganesh