Hindus across India and the rest of the world are celebrating the start of the 10 day-long festival of Ganesh Chaturthi, in honour of the god of wisdom and prosperity, Lord Ganesha, also known as Ganapati. The son of Lord Shiva and Parvati, Ganesha is depicted as having an elephant's head and a man's body, usually with four arms.
Hindu devotees offer prayers at a 57-foot (16-metre) tall idol of Ganesh in HyderabadNoah Seelam/AFP
Devotees place idols of the elephant-headed god in their homes or on elevated stages in public places and then – at the end of the ten-day period – immerse the statues in rivers, lakes or the sea. According to popular belief, Lord Ganesha blesses those who worship him on this day by removing obstacles from their lives and granting them new beginnings.
A devotee transports an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh in a taxi on the first day of the ten-day-long Ganesh Chaturthi festival in MumbaiDanish Siddiqui/ReutersA boy wears a mask of Hindu deity Ganesh sell outside a temple in HyderabadNoah Seelam/AFPWorkers unload an idol of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha from a passenger train in ChennaiArun Sankar/AFPAn idol of the Hindu god Ganesh is loaded onto a truck to be transported to a place of worship on the first day of the ten-day-long Ganesh Chaturthi festival in AhmedabadAmit Dave/ReutersDevotees transport an idol of the elephant-headed Hindu deity Ganesha for Ganesh Chaturthi in MumbaiPunit Paranjpe/AFPDevotees cover an idol of the elephant-headed Hindu deity Ganesha with a plastic sheet to protect it from the rain as they move it in MumbaiPunit Paranjpe/AFPDevotees transport idols of the Hindu deity Ganesha in HyderabadNoah Seelam/AFPA woman selling idols of the elephant-headed Hindu deity Ganesha waits for customers in MumbaiIndranil Mukherjee/AFPAn image of the elephant-headed Hindu deity Ganesha is seen on a bus in MumbaiIndranil Mukherjee/AFPHindu men carry a statue of Ganesh to celebrate the first day of Ganesha Chaturthi, at Bharathiya Temple in Chalfont, Pennsylvania, USGabriela Bhaskar/Reuters
