KAILASA LOS ANGELES, USA on 6/30/2020 - Nithyanandapedia

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KAILASA LOS ANGELES, USA on 6/30/2020

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A photograph of a Satyanarayana puja in a temple shrine. A bare-chested priest with a shaved head, wearing a white dhoti with a yellow border and a rudraksha mala, sits cross-legged on a red carpet wearing a blue face mask, facing a low wooden table covered with green betel leaves, brass lamps, a brass pot and bowls. Around him are fruit offerings: bananas, green apples, a mango and pineapple, along with pink and white flower garlands and coconut halves. Behind him three decorated kalasha pots with yellow and red cloth and fruit stand on a red-draped platform. Golden shrines hold deity murti, including a standing figure with a tall crown and a multi-armed figure in colourful dress. A camera tripod is visible at the right edge.

A seated priest bare-chested with a white dhoti bordered in gold performs a puja at a temple altar. He wears a face mask and holds a lit multi-wick brass aarti lamp toward a platter of offerings. Three small yellow and pink decorated kalasha-style figures with flower garlands sit on a red-draped altar, with gold-framed shrine niches and deity murtis behind. Brass plates hold bananas, apples, mangoes, a pineapple, dates and rice, and marigold petals and leaves are laid on a low wooden stand. Gold lamps and a bell are nearby.

A seated priest with a shaved head and bare chest wears a white dhoti with gold border and a face mask, holding a lit oil lamp over an offering tray during a Satyanarayana puja. Three painted clay-style deity murti or decorated forms sit on a red cloth before an altar with carved white pillars. Behind them stand ornate deity statues in gold frames, garlanded and dressed in colourful silk. Brass plates hold bananas, green apples, pineapple, mango, coconut, dates and rice, with flowers and betel leaves scattered on banana leaves. Brass oil lamps and a kalasha surround the scene.

KAILASA LOS ANGELES, USA on 6/30/2020

KAILASA LOS ANGELES, USA on 3/1/2022

A bare-chested priest in white dhoti with a black head covering and face mask performs aarti before a shrine of decorated murti figures. He holds a multi-tiered brass aarti lamp with flames raised toward the deities. The central seated figure wears an orange and red decorated head covering, with garlands of marigolds and white flowers. Behind him stand gilded and painted deity figures, including one in yellow and one in purple garments, a figure with a long black beard and red turban, and a golden arch. Red curtains hang in the background, and orange cloth covers the altar platform.

KAILASA LOS ANGELES, USA on 12/12/2020

A bare-chested priest in white dhoti with a sacred thread stands with his back to the camera, offering a flame or lamp toward a richly decorated deity altar. Several gilded murti statues stand in a shrine with arched golden backdrop, red drapes and garlands of marigold and yellow flowers. A central deity image is adorned with a crown, flower garlands and a rudraksha-style necklace above a kalasha and brass oil lamps. Two figures flank the altar, one wearing a black cap and orange garland. The scene is a temple puja or aarti at the Los Angeles temple.

Inside a temple shrine, a shirtless priest in white dhoti with a gold border and a blue face mask waves a flame lamp toward a black stone deity murti covered in garlands of white and yellow flowers and a purple silk cloth. Behind it stand gold-coloured statues: a deity with a trident and crown, a goddess in a yellow sari with a garland, and a bearded sage holding a hand up in blessing wearing a rudraksha-style mala, with a smaller purple-clad figure below. Red curtains hang in the background.

A photograph inside a temple shrine. A bare-chested priest in a white dhoti with a gold border, wearing a black face mask and with hair tied up in a topknot, holds a lit multi-wick aarti lamp toward a shrine. The shrine has a raised tiled platform with a red draped backdrop and gold arched frame. Several gilded deity murtis stand with yellow and orange marigold garlands and jewelled necklaces; one central murti wears a crown and red garment seated on a red-cloth throne with a garland. Brass vessels and a small silver stand sit on the platform. Only the priest is a physical person visible.

KAILASA LOS ANGELES, USA on 12/26/2020

A photograph inside a temple shrine with gold-framed arches, red drapes and green cloth backdrops. A bald, bare-chested priest in white dhoti with a gold border stands with his back to the camera, holding a lit oil lamp toward a central altar. Behind the altar are decorated deity murti with garlands and multiple ornate figures. A black stone Nandi-like bull figure in the foreground wears a green and orange cloth and a pearl necklace, with small oil lamps burning on the floor. Brass lamp stands flank the scene. The setting suggests a Tamil New Year puja.