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Outdoor ritual under a corrugated roof decorated with triangular bunting and hanging tassels, with palm trees beyond. In the foreground, fruit offerings including bananas, oranges, pineapple, watermelon, apples and coconuts sit on steel plates and a purple cloth-covered table. Several seated priests in white dhotis and shawls perform the puja, one standing priest in white holds a lit flame over a brass oil lamp. Brass lamps and a framed deity image are placed near the altar, with a large deity murti dressed in white draped cloth and garlands on the left. Smoke rises from the ceremony.

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October 16 20102010-10-16Outdoor ritual under a corrugated metal roof strung with red, green and yellow hanging tassels and bunting, with palm trees behind. Centre-right, a standing man with a bare chest and white dhoti with yellow border gestures with raised hands toward a seated group. Seated before a purple-and-red cloth altar are several priests in white dhotis and white upper cloths, one with a shaved head, around brass oil lamps (nanda vilakku), kalasha-style vessels, and trays of fruit, coconut, bananas, pineapple, watermelon, oranges, sweets and kumkum/turmeric powder. A framed portrait stands on an easel-like stand near the centre. Left foreground, a woman in a green garment and white embroidered blouse holds a lamp and others hold aloft shining sticks. A red-and-orange shrine with statues and a tall decorated pillar stands at right. Photograph of a Chandi Homa ritual.2010-10-16 +1 copiesOutdoor ritual under a corrugated roof with palm trees and strings of green leaves and small red and orange flags overhead. A standing priest in white dhoti and shawl with a yellow-bordered cloth holds a lit flame in a lamp toward an altar, with flames visible. Seated priests in white, one bald and bare-chested, attend around low tables laden with bananas, fruits, coconuts, flowers and brass lamps. At left, large deity murti figures are adorned with garlands and a decorated canopy. Behind the altar a framed picture of a deity sits on a red-and-gold backdrop. Some devotees stand in the background.2010-10-16 +1 copiesOutdoor puja under a tin-roofed pavilion with palm trees behind. A bald priest in white dhoti and shawl stands at right, holding a lit flame on a brass lamp toward a deity murti. Seated devotees in white and a woman in green sari sit on mats before offerings of fruit, flowers, coconut and brass lamps. Strings of triangular flags and hanging decorative pillars frame the scene. A framed deity image sits on the central altar with a red and green cloth backdrop.2010-10-16 +1 copiesOctober 16 20102010-10-16 +2 copiesOctober 16 20102010-10-16 +1 copiesOctober 16 20102010-10-16 +1 copiesOctober 15 20102010-10-15 +1 copiesOctober 15 20102010-10-15Outdoor ritual at dusk under palm trees and strung leaf garlands. A standing priest with a shaved head, bare-chested and wearing a white dhoti and white shawl with maroon borders, rings a handbell while holding a lit lamp. Behind him a fire burns in an open pit. Seated men in white dhotis and saffron-coloured ceremonial garlands chant and sit on orange cloth. A framed portrait of a deity stands on an ornate gold-trimmed red throne, with a green cloth and a garland of red flowers in front of it. Brass oil lamps, metal plates of offerings and fruit, and tall decorative banners complete the scene.2010-10-16 +1 copiesOctober 16 20102010-10-16 +1 copiesA photograph of a homa ritual performed outdoors before a decorated deity murti. Several men in white dhotis and white upper cloths sit in a row on white cloth around a dark square fire pit, with smoke rising from it. One priest bends forward pouring an offering into the fire, and others sit with brass vessels and plates of flowers, grains and fruit nearby. Behind them a large deity murti with a crown and a lion mount is adorned with white and gold decorations, and a red-and-gold throne holds a framed portrait of a woman in orange. Brass lamps, bananas, oranges and watermelon sit on the ground, with colorful cloth bundles and a red-and-gold ceremonial canopy overhead. Some people stand in the background near an orange building with signage.2010-10-16 +1 copies