Ganesha

Carved and painted alabaster sculpture of the elephant-headed Hindu god, Ganesha sitting on a rectangular pedestal. He wears a short crown, painted gold with accents of red and green and his trunk curls to the right side of his face, in the process of eating a modaka (sweetmeat). In his upper right hand is an axe, while he holds an elephant goad ankusha in his upper left hand. The lower right hand holds prayer beads while the lower left hand holds a sweet modaka. He wears jewellery, painted gold much like his weapons, a yellow lower garment, dhoti along with a black snake around his stomach. His vahana or mount, the rat is carved into the front of the pedestal and painted black. Ganesha is a god of auspicious beginnings and the remover of obstacles. Most Hindu religious rituals begin with a prayer to Ganesha, he also has his own festival which is widely celebrated across western and southern India. Small Ganesha figures like this are souvenir items or are kept by devotees as a personal idol, as the blessings of the elephant-headed god are seen as removing any obstacles that one might face.