September 29 2006 - Nithyanandapedia

Nithyanandapedia

September 29 2006

More like this

Open the gallery

September 29 2006

December 23 2006

A night-time outdoor ritual preparation area under a thatched and tarpaulin canopy, decorated with banana plants, strings of triangular pennants and marigold garlands hung from a beam. Two orange flags stand at the entrance. Rows of blue-covered mats and seating platforms line the ground, with small clay lamps and pots arranged along the edges. On the left, a red-draped table holds offerings, fruit and a deity murti with garlands. No people are visible in the scene.

Night photograph of an outdoor yajna enclosure lit by fluorescent tube lights strung along bamboo poles, with banana-leaf and coconut-frond garlands and palm fronds hanging overhead and tall decorated pillars at the edges. Several men in white dhotis and white shirts stand around the sandy ground, and one man in white bends low near the white stone fire pits in the lower right. A figure in a saffron-orange cloth stands in the left foreground with bare upper body. A woman in a white sari with a gold border and a dark mala stands in the centre-right. Stone fire pits and a sandy floor indicate a fire-offering ritual setting. Approximately eight to ten people are visible.

September 29 2006

A photograph inside a large open-sided bamboo pavilion with a corrugated roof, where a yagna ritual is being performed. Tall bamboo posts and banana plants frame the hall, and strings of marigold garlands hang from the ceiling. In the centre a stepped earthen altar stands on a white-draped table beside a decorated deity murti with flower garlands. Several people in white dhotis and saffron-orange shawls walk through the hall, and one man in white with an orange shawl carries a brass vessel. Large portrait banners line the back wall.

Night-time outdoor ritual under a blue-framed tarpaulin canopy on bare red earth. Several bare-chested men in white dhotis perform homa-style worship at multiple square yellow brick altars arranged with banana-leaf offerings, pots, fruits, marigold and white flower garlands, and small brass oil lamps. A central man in a red cloth sits cross-legged at the front, another in an orange cloth sits at right, and a standing man in white dhoti with a white-and-orange wrap holds a brass plate. Blue fairy lights glow in the background.

Night-time homa ceremony under a canopy decorated with green, orange and blue fringed hangings and banana leaves. A man in an orange robe with a white vertical forehead mark and beaded necklace stands at a square fire pit and pours offerings, while a second orange-robed priest attends beside him. Devotees in white clothes with yellow shawls sit on mats and watch. Brass bowls, a bell, a small kalasha-style vessel, and a pineapple-shaped basket of flowers lie on a mat in front. Strings of dried leaves hang overhead under electric lights.

A night ritual inside an open-sided temporary shelter with a corrugated metal roof and bamboo poles. Rows of small brick fire pits with brass vessels and oil lamps sit on woven mats, with plates of offerings nearby. Tall decorated poles with coloured tassels stand at the back. On a raised dais at the right, a deity murti is decorated with garlands and flowers, with a framed portrait beside it. A man in an orange cloth stands before the altar, and another man in white dhoti with an orange shawl stands to the right. A third person in white sits at the far left under a light, and a figure in white moves through the middle. Fluorescent tubes light the scene.

Photograph of a temporary open-sided pavilion with a corrugated metal roof, strung with paper garlands and banana-leaf or sugarcane stalks, with an earthen floor. A barefoot person in a saffron-orange cloth stands centre-right beside a small white ceremonial platform holding brass and copper vessels, a white cloth and a flame lamp. Around them men in white dhotis and shirts stand and move through the space. At left an elderly man with white hair and beard in white clothes stands beside a table of ritual items and a pot. Colourful painted panels and a decorated umbrella-like canopy with a red and gold design hang nearby, and loudspeakers are visible at right. The scene suggests a homa or yagna area with ritual preparations during a multi-day fire-offering event.

July 16 2006

Night-time outdoor ritual at a temple courtyard under palm trees and a tarpaulin roof. A man in long flowing orange saffron robes and a rudraksha mala walks barefoot across the sand, carrying a small staff, past rows of white-draped rectangular platforms each holding brass lamps, bowls and offerings. Women in white saris stand on both sides, some with folded hands. Behind them a gold and ornate deity murti sits on a decorated altar framed by a red-and-gold arch, with garlands, a kalasha-like brass lamp stand, and a banner with a portrait above. Red and white draped cloth covers the sides, and mango leaf strings hang overhead. Children stand at the left edge.