October 10 2010 - Nithyanandapedia

Nithyanandapedia

October 10 2010

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June 06 2011

A photograph of a seated group of priests performing a puja on white floor tiles. Several men wear white dhotis and shawls with red and gold borders, sacred thread and rudraksha malas, and forehead tilak marks. They sit on orange mats in front of brass plates, bowls, small lamps and flower offerings, and several hold small brass implements. Plastic containers, a tripod and camera equipment sit at the edge of the frame. The central priest in the foreground has a shaved head and white clothing; no one in the scene is identifiable as a person from appearance alone.

A seated group ritual in an ashram hall. Two monks in saffron-orange robes with red borders and rudraksha malas sit cross-legged on a mat in the foreground. The man on the left, with a grey beard and glasses, holds a small brass lamp with a lit flame; the younger monk on the right, with a shaved head and white tilak marks, holds a lit oil lamp and a brass vessel. Behind them, men in white dhotis and shawls with red borders hold lit lamps. Brass plates with flowers, fruit, rice and kumkum sit on the mat in front, along with a open book. Tripods and equipment are visible at the top left. This is a puja with oil lamps, and the presence of the lamps and offerings suggests an arati or padapuja-style rite.

November 22 2010

A group puja in a marble-floored hall with several men seated on orange and red mats, each holding a small brass oil lamp (deepa) in one hand. The seated men wear white dhotis and shawls with rudraksha malas; several have white and red sectarian marks on their foreheads. On the left, a man in saffron-orange robes with a shaved head sits holding a lamp, with a brass thali of flowers and fruit before him. Brass plates with offerings, flowers, kalashas and incense sticks lie on the floor in front of the group. A microphone stand is visible at the upper left.

A photograph of a seated group of men performing a puja in a plain hall with mats on the floor. Several men in white dhotis and shawls, with white sacred ash bands across their foreheads, hold small oil lamps and brass vessels in raised hands. A man in an orange robe with a rudraksha mala sits at the right, holding a brass item. Brass plates with flowers, a steel container and a backpack lie on the mats. Children in casual clothes sit in the background. Ritual oil lamp worship is shown.

A seated puja in a marble-floored hall. On the left, a shaven-headed man in an orange saffron robe with a rudraksha mala reads from an open book beside brass vessels and a thali. Beside him, a bespectacled man in white dhoti and shawl with a red border holds a prayer booklet, and to the right a bald priest in white with a mala sits near small brass oil lamps lit on a green mat. Several other white-clad devotees sit on orange cloths, some with palms joined in prayer, and brass plates, kalashas, incense and flowers are arranged in front of them. The page excerpt is not visible in the image.

A seated group of men in white dhotis and shawls, many bare-chested with rudraksha malas, perform a ritual on a white marble floor with brass puja vessels, small oil lamps, flower petals and bowls of fruit on orange and red cloths. In the centre a man in saffron/orange robes with a rudraksha mala sits with hands clasped, facing forward, while others around him hold small items and bells in a puja. Some men wear glasses. The setting appears to be a hall with pale walls.

A photograph of a seated puja in a hall with woven mats. In the foreground a man with a shaved head, white dhoti and shawl, a red rudraksha mala and white tripundra markings sits cross-legged, eyes lowered, hands resting near a brass plate and small lamps. Beside him a younger devotee in white with a folded-hands namaskar pose sits in front of a brass bell and offering vessels. Behind them several men in white garments with bare-chested sitting postures and white forehead marks sit in rows, along with other devotees in the background. Oil lamps, brass vessels and a tray with ritual items are visible. The scene reads as a padapuja-style ritual gathering.

A seated group of devotees performs a puja on white marble floor with orange mats. In the foreground a bald, clean-shaven man in white dhoti and shawl with a striped border, a rudraksha mala and a white vertical forehead mark sits with one hand extended toward brass puja plates holding flowers, a small lamp and a brass bell. Beside him a younger man in white with a sacred thread and wristwatch reaches toward the offerings, and a third man in white with a tripod and fellow participants sit behind. Brass lamps, kumkum, flower petals and a steel plate sit on orange cloth. Several women in orange saris and men in white and yellow shawls sit in rows in the background.

A seated group of devotees in white ritual dhotis and shawls performs a ceremony in a pale pink hall. Foreground, a bald man with white vertical tilak marks on his forehead and arms, wearing a dark rudraksha mala, holds a brass oil lamp and an open book. Beside him a man holds a lit oil lamp aloft, and rows of others raise lamps or bells. Brass plates on orange cloth hold flowers, fruit, coconuts, conch shells and yellow powder. Orange and red curtains hang in the background.

A photograph of a group of men and boys seated cross-legged on mats in a bright hall performing a pada-puja or ritual lamp offering. Several men in white dhotis and bare upper bodies, with white and orange sacred markings on their foreheads and arms, hold lit oil lamps and brass plates with flowers and offerings. Men in orange robes sit to the right, holding lamps and brass bells. A standing man in an orange robe and mala stands at the back between red curtains and chairs. Brass bowls, plates, and a small bell lie on the floor.