In India, a person who is good speaker or singer is complimented by saying that Goddess Saraswati resides in his / her tongue or voice. This is because Goddess Saraswati is the deity of knowledge and talent. The consort of Lord Brahma, Saraswati is an epitome of learning and wisdom. There are many names to Goddess Saraswati and one of the names of Saraswati is Shatarupa, which means one with hundred charming appearances.
She sits on a lotus top and has four hands. The front hands are used to play Sitar (A musical instrument) which signifies talent. In her other two hands, she holds rosary in one and book in another which represents focus/meditation and knowledge respectively. Goddess Saraswati wears only white sari which shows her eternal goodness.
Goddess Saraswati moves in a Swan which is to show that as a swan opts for pearl ignoring the stone because it knows the difference between a pearls and stones; one should understand the difference between good and bad and always settle for the good. There are many tales about Saraswati on how she used her wisdom to bring victory to the good doers and teach a lesson to wrong doers.
As the Universe was being created by Lord Brahma, there was total chaos due to lack of knowledge. This was when Goddess Saraswati came into existence and put the chaos to end. It would not be wrong to say Goddess Saraswati is knowledge herself. One who is blessed by Goddess Saraswati is wise, creative and talented.