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Nithyanandapedia
July 17 2006

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A photograph of a homa fire pit, a rectangular brick-style altar with a smoking trench, edged with white jasmine garlands and scattered pink and red flower petals. Behind it, devotees stand and kneel in white and cream clothing, several women in sarees with folded hands in prayer, while smoke drifts through the scene. A red and maroon backdrop hangs behind. The setting suggests a fire offering ritual, with no clearly identifiable presenter at the centre of the altar.2006-07-17A photograph of a homa fire pit, a rectangular brick-and-clay yajna altar decorated with white jasmine garlands, pink and white flowers and scattered red petals, with smoke rising from it. An elderly man with white hair and glasses, wearing a white shirt and white dhoti, leans over the altar with his hands joined and extended toward the fire. Behind him a standing crowd of about fifteen people watches: women in sarees including a yellow one and a red-bordered one, men in white shirts, a man in a striped shirt, and a woman holding a small child. A dark draped backdrop and a red cloth hang behind them. A row of mats covers the floor. No figure in the scene is clearly identifiable as a specific person.2006-07-17July 17 20062006-07-17A photograph of a homa or yajna in an open-sided pavilion with a corrugated roof. A large, dark, unlit fire pit sits on a low brick platform decorated with a white flower garland and pink petals, with woven mats laid out in front. A large black-draped backdrop behind it bears a sepia portrait of a smiling man wearing a golden-yellow turban and saffron-toned robes with a rudraksha-style mala. A woman in a green sari with an orange blouse leans over the pit offering something, while a woman in a peach sari with a pendant stands at the right edge and devotees in white and checked shirts crowd the background. Leafy decorations hang from the roof beams.2006-07-17A homa fire ritual in a hall with a painted backdrop of a tree and a shrine with a deity murti decorated with garlands. In front, a central fire burns on bricks, surrounded by fruit, flower offerings and a raised offering platform. A woman in a white dress with an orange shawl sits cross-legged with hands folded in prayer behind the fire, and another woman in white sits beside her. Seated devotees in the foreground include a man in a white shirt and women in patterned and yellow saris, with a microphone stand near the fire. No visible person clearly matches the a person appearance cues.2011-10-26A homa fire ritual in a open-sided hall with brick pillars and a thatched or leafy ceiling. A fire burns in a rectangular stone fire pit with ash, and a red kalasha-like pot decorated with flowers sits in the flames. A priest in white dhoti with red-and-gold border and a red beaded necklace stands at right holding a brass ladle and a bowl of offering. Beside him, a bare-chested man in a dark shirt and white dhoti holds a brass dish. Behind them, a group of people in saffron and orange robes and rudraksha malas stand with hands folded in prayer, and a few in white stand at left. Flower garlands and a tray of offerings lie at lower left.2012-09-24July 17 20062006-07-17A photograph of a homa or fire ritual in a plain whitewashed room with a concrete floor. A priest in white dhoti and shawl with gold-coloured borders kneels at a small fire pit, feeding flames with a ladle-like implement. Two other people in white, including one seated with a white cloth over the head, sit by the fire with offering vessels and brass plates. On the right, a family sits on white mats: a woman in a rust-brown sari with hands folded, a young child in white and yellow, a woman in a turquoise sari with hands in namaste, and a man in a white shirt and cream trousers seated on a plastic chair, also with hands joined. A deity murti picture garlanded with flowers hangs above a draped table with two brass oil lamps lit on it. Bottom right partially shows another devotee with folded hands.2009-10-10Indoor photo of a homa at an ashram hall with a square brick fire pit burning in the lower left. A priest in white robes with dark stripes kneels before a white ritual altar or seat in the centre. Around them a group of devotees stands with hands folded in prayer: a woman in an orange-red sari at left, a man in a striped polo shirt, a man in a white shirt, a girl in a pink outfit, and women in blue and green saris at right. Brass lamps, flowers and fruit offerings sit on a yellow cloth and a patterned mat. White pillars with carved details frame the room. No identifiable a person figure is clearly visible.2009-09-20July 17 20062006-07-17A photograph of an outdoor fire-offering ritual under a open-sided tent. Thick white smoke rises from a long wooden fire pit with a low platform, decorated with white and pink flowers, where a homa is being performed. Behind it hangs a large dark backdrop bearing a golden-toned depiction of a smiling figure in an orange-brown wrap with a turban and a long bead garland, a portrait rather than a living person. Several women in saris and salwars, one in a green sari and another in a pink sari, stand and watch near the fire pit. Men in white dhotis and shirts move around the tent, and a man in a blue-grey shirt stands at right. Strings of green leaves and marigold garlands hang from the roof beams, with red cloth and a red tarpaulin behind them.2006-07-17November 06 20112011-11-06