India, Sept. 27 -- In the beginning, Ganesha was many, many nature spirits called Vinayakas or Ganeshavaras, from which the modern elephant-headed deity evolved. What boggles the mind is that in all these years, his defining features - the snout, sweetmeats and of course, the round potbelly - have stayed the same. And yet if you see all around, he has changed and how.

The British Museum's ongoing exhibition, Ancient India: Living Traditions, in London, captures this evolution and permanence in sacred art in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, to reveal a fascinating origin story.

Among all the 180 exhibits on display, a 2,000-year-old object is perhaps the most ancient specimen of the yakshas, a prototype of sorts of Hindu, Jain and Buddhis...