The Vedabee hive

Look for: his gada (mace) and his big, kind smile

Hanuman is the son of Anjana and Vayu, the wind. As a baby he saw the rising sun and thought it was a ripe, juicy mango, so up, up, up he leapt into the sky to take a bite! When he grew up he became Lord Rama's most loving helper. He jumped right across the ocean to find Sita in Lanka, and when Lakshmana needed a healing herb, Hanuman carried back the whole mountain, just to be sure.

Look for: his bansuri (flute) and a mor pankh (peacock feather)

Little Krishna grew up in Gokul with Yashoda Maiya and Nanda Baba. He loved fresh makhan (butter) and always shared it with his friends, and even with the monkeys! One day a huge storm poured down on Gokul. Krishna lifted the whole Govardhan hill on his little finger, like an umbrella, and everyone stayed safe and dry underneath for seven days.

Look for: his dhanush (bow) and baan (arrows)

Rama was the prince of Ayodhya. To keep his father King Dasharatha's promise, he happily went to live in the forest for fourteen years with Sita and his brother Lakshmana. To reach Lanka, his vanara friends built a bridge across the sea. They wrote "Rama" on the stones, and the stones floated! A well-loved story says a tiny squirrel helped too, and Rama thanked it with a gentle stroke that left three stripes on its back.

Look for: his modak (sweet dumplings) and Mooshak the mouse

Ganesha is the son of Shiva and Parvati. Once he and his brother Kartikeya had a race three times around the world. Kartikeya zoomed off on his peacock. Ganesha simply walked around his mother and father and said, "You are my whole world." He won! Later, when the sage Ved Vyasa needed someone to write down the Mahabharata, Ganesha broke off a piece of his tusk and used it as a pen.

Look for: her trishul (trident), her many arms and her sher (lion)

Long ago a mighty buffalo demon called Mahishasura was making trouble for everyone. All the gods joined their light together, and out of that light came Durga Maa! Each god gave her a gift: Shiva gave her his trishul and Vishnu gave her his chakra. She rode out on her lion, won the battle, and peace came back to the world.

Look for: her kamal (lotus) and her ulloo (owl)

When the gods and asuras churned the great ocean of milk, many treasures rose from the waves. The most beautiful was Lakshmi Maa, smiling on a pink lotus. She is the goddess of good fortune, plenty and happiness. At Diwali, families clean their homes, draw bright rangoli and light rows of diyas to welcome her in.

Look for: his saffron robe and turban, and his arms folded with confidence

Swami Vivekananda was born in Kolkata on 12 January 1863 and was called Naren as a boy. Naren was full of questions. He even asked his teacher, Sri Ramakrishna, "Have you seen God?" In 1893 he travelled all the way to Chicago and began his talk with "Sisters and Brothers of America". The whole hall stood up and clapped! Before that trip, he swam out to a rock in the sea at Kanyakumari and sat there thinking about how to help India.

Look for: his cosy checked blanket and his happy, twinkling eyes

People lovingly call him Maharaj-ji. He was a great devotee of Hanuman and built many Hanuman temples. One famous story says he was asked to get off a train because he had no ticket. He sat down quietly under a tree, and the train would not move! Only when Maharaj-ji was invited back on did the train start again. His ashram, Kainchi Dham, sits in the green hills near Nainital, and no visitor ever leaves hungry.