Archaeologist-historian Dr Madhukhar Keshav Dhavalikar describing various representations of Ganesha across Asia at the exhibition at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. He is seen with Dr Shrikant Bahulkar, honorary secretary of the institute, who put the archaeologist’s central idea in the form of exhibits. Pics/Mandar Tannu

God is standing on a pedestal; rather corpulent and potbellied. The head is roundish and has a third eye; the trunk is large and straight, as in Javanese representations. He wears a lower garment reaching the knees, held in place by a kamarband. He wears sparse jewellery - a necklace and bracelets, and an ornamented girdle on the waist. The tiger skin is a noteworthy feature, making this the only known instance of Ganesha wearing the vyaghra charm in all of South East Asia, although coming close to the Kabul Museum Ganesha.