Celebrating the modak-loving wise one

For Hindus across the globe, he is the supreme god of wisdom and prosperity. His blessings are invoked before the beginning of any auspicious work as it is believed that he can fulfil all desires. He is worshipped during every festival and also before embarking upon a new venture. It is only fair then that on September 1, his birthday, Lord Ganesha is celebrated with great fervour and piety.
To understand the celebration, however, a bit about Lord Ganesha should be known. There are numerous stories in Hindu mythology associated with his birth.
A god takes form
Legend has it that Parvati (Lord Shiva's consort) created Ganesha out of the sandalwood dough that she used for her bath and breathed life into him. Another version, however, says that once, while bathing, Goddess Parvati created a human figure from some unguent and balm, infused in him life and asked him to guard the door while she bathed. Lord Shiva, who was meditating on Mount Kailash, coincidentally chose that very moment to meet his consort at her abode. The boy, posted by Parvati at the door, stopped him at the entrance. Outraged and having no idea that it was his own son stopping him, Lord Shiva-the God of destruction-severed the lad's head. A distraught Parvati wailed and appealed to Lord Shiva to revive the boy. Feeling the unbearable pain of Parvati for the son, Lord Shiva dispatched his attendants (ganas) to get him the head of the first living creature they could find on their way. The attendants came across an elephant, the first living creature before them. As directed, they chopped off its head and brought it back to Shiva, who fixed it onto the boy's body thereby infusing into him fresh life. Ever since then the lad has been named Ganesha or Ganapati, the chief of Shiva's ganas.
Ganesha has four hands in which he holds a trident (trishul), ankush (goad made from his own broken tooth), lotus and a rosary (which is sometimes replaced by his favourite droplet-shaped sweet, modak).
When wit won
Another interesting tale tells of how he came to be known as the leader of ganas (Ganadhipati or Ganapati). Once the gods decided to choose their leader and arranged a race between Lord Ganesha and his brother Kartikeya-the general of the gods. Whoever took three rounds of the earth first would be made Ganadhipati or their leader. Kartikeya set off on his peacock vehicle to meet the challenge, while Ganesha embarked on his mooshak (rat). Among Hindus, it is a strong belief that one's parents are the embodiment of the universe, and an obeisance to them fulfills all uphill tasks. For Ganesha, his parents constituted the earth, and as such instead of going around the earth, he went around them three times and completed the task before Kartikeya. Ganesha's wit pleased one and all and he soon came to be known as the Ganadhipati.
Blue moon
Ganesha's curse to the moon is well-known in mythology and strictly adhered to by devotees on the day of Chaturthi. On the occasion of one of his birthdays, Goddess Parvati prepared delicious food including modaks. Ganesha ate the food, his stomach stuffed. He then embarked on his mooshak to move around paradise. On his way, mooshak came across a snake and stumbled. Without wasting time, Ganesha tied the snake as a belt around his stomach. Seeing the sorry plight of the stumbling mooshak, the moon could not control his laughter. Ganesha became furious and in a fit of rage he broke off one of his tusks and hurled it at the moon. He also cursed the moon that whoever looks at it will be accused of a wrongdoing. However, the moon pleaded before Lord Ganesha and urged him to take back his curse. Ganesha pardoned the moon and said the curse would be effective only on Ganesh Chaturthi. The tradition is still followed by most Hindus.