October 02 2014 - Nithyanandapedia

Nithyanandapedia

October 02 2014

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A temple ritual in a covered hall with festive paper streamers overhead. Smoke rises from a brass fire pit as a man in white dhoti and shirt stirs offerings with a ladle. Several men in saffron-orange dhotis and shawls, some with rudraksha malas and white forehead marks, stand around the fire; one holds a metal dish. A brass oil lamp burns at left, and a tray of bananas, grapes, apples, flowers and fruit lies on a banana leaf in front. A gilded arch and a chariot wheel are visible in the background. Several men in white and red clothing stand nearby. No single figure can be identified with confidence.

A photograph of a temple puja in a covered hall with smoke rising through the air. In the foreground, a priest in white dhoti and a shawl holds a tall brass oil lamp lit with a flame. Behind a low table covered with an orange cloth, offerings of bananas, apples, grapes, flowers and a leaf plate sit around a golden ornate shrine or deity murti. A man in a red shirt and dark trousers stirs or handles a metal vessel, while several men in white shirts and maroon dhotis stand in a row holding offering plates and bowls. Brass lamps, a green wooden palanquin edge and a carved stone figure appear at the sides, and the ceiling is hung with green and paper decorations.

A hall decorated with hanging leaf and flower strings shows a ritual fire in a copper vessel, with a priest in a red-brown silk shawl and white dhoti standing beside it, a second white-clad assistant to the left, and devotees in white dhotis and shirts pouring from a small bowl into the flames. Brass oil lamps with lit flames, a banana leaf with fruits and vegetables, a white flower garland, and a bronze deity murti stand on the cloth-covered table. Behind them is a green and red wooden chariot with brass bells and a painted wheel. The setting resembles a homa or yagna offering.

A photograph inside a covered hall of a ritual homa or puja: a brass fire tray with flames at centre, smoke rising, and a golden oil lamp on a peach-coloured draped table at left holding flowers and a white-and-gold garland. Several men in white dhotis and shirts stand with folded hands at right, one in a red shirt, while a bare-chested priest in red-orange dhoti and a sacred thread stands behind the fire. A green wooden cart and brass fittings sit at left, and a small brass deity murti and a green gourd lie on the floor at right. Hanging garlands decorate the ceiling.

A photograph inside a small temple interior during a ritual. A standing figure in a rust-orange robe and matching orange turban, wearing a long garland of white and yellow flowers, holds a brass plate with a lit oil lamp, offering aarti before a decorated deity murti. Offerings of flowers, fruits and green coconuts with orange blossoms are arranged on the floor and altar, and a white-clad priest in white dhoti with a striped border stands at right with hands joined. Onlookers in white shirts and dhotis watch, and photographers with cameras stand near the entrance. Rudraksha malas hang on several devotees.

June 05 2012

A temple interior with smoke rising from a brass vessel at right, where a man in a white shirt and white dhoti holds tongs and a metal bowl. Beside him, a man in a striped yellow and grey shirt and white dhoti holds a small bowl. Behind them, a priest in a maroon garment with gold borders and a yellow garland stands beside a man in white dhoti with a gold-bordered cloth and rudraksha mala. Strings of yellow flowers hang from the ceiling, and a green decorated deity murti sits at left. Several other men in white and maroon stand in the background.

A homa fire ritual in a temple-like hall with a gold-framed throne and deity murti garlanded in marigolds in the background. A priest bare-chested in white dhoti with a golden shoulder cloth bends over a blue-draped fire pit, feeding flames from a brick hearth, while a kalasha with mango leaves and marigold garlands sits on a raised platform. Several devotees stand behind in saffron and gold dhotis and shawls, one holding a brass vessel, others with hands folded. Offerings of flowers and fruit lie on trays nearby.

A night ritual in an open-sided pavilion with a white canopy and hanging lamps. At centre, a square wooden homa fire pit with a smoking fire sits on a red floor, scattered with petals and flowers. Several men in white dhotis stand and kneel around it; one holds a brass vessel and another pours offerings. On the right, a decorated deity murti with garlands of yellow and red flowers sits on a silver-and-gold setting, with brass lamps and a kalasha nearby. At left, seated men in white clothes chant into microphones, with fruit plates and a ceremonial bowl in front of them. A standing man wears an orange turban and rudraksha mala. Hanging decorations and lamps fill the upper area. No one in the scene is identifiable as a person by the cues required.

January 03 2015

Outdoor homa ceremony at night beside a square brick fire pit with flames rising from it. Several bare-chested priests in white dhotis with coloured striped borders and gold necklaces stand and kneel around it. One priest in the centre, wearing a red-and-white head cloth, pours from a metal vessel. Behind them a silver-framed object and tiered arrangements of yellow and red flower garlands rest on a silver stand, with brass pots on a table at the back. The page-based identity cue does not show a qualifying candidate here, so the people are described by role only.

July 17 2015