February 26 2013 - Nithyanandapedia

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February 26 2013

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February 26 2013

February 26 2013

2013-02-26 +1 copies

Two young boys sit with palms pressed together in namaskar, eyes closed in prayer, at what appears to be an outdoor gathering. The boy on the right, bare-chested, wears a white dhoti-style cloth with gold border over his shoulder, a rudraksha mala around his neck, rudraksha bracelets, a white vertical tilak on his forehead with a red bindi, and a wristwatch. The boy on the left wears a white garment with gold border, a white tilak with a red bindi, and rudraksha bracelets. Blurred onlookers sit in the background. No readable deity murti or a person is visible in frame.

A photograph of a homa fire pit, a square white-tiled pit with a dark opening, at an outdoor ritual. A shaved-headed young priest in white dhoti and shawl with gold borders, wearing a gold pendant on a beaded necklace and bangles, sits with palms pressed together in prayer. Beside him, another priest in white with gold-bordered cloth and glasses sits near a microphone stand. A woman in a white sari with coloured borders stands with hands folded at the back. Brass plates hold turmeric, fruit, flowers and a silver vessel; a brass bowl and a silver container sit at the pit edge.

September 25 2009

2009-09-25 +2 copies

A photograph of a homa ceremony at an outdoor ritual platform with a fire pit in front, covered with flower petals in yellow, orange and pink. A central man sits on a carved wooden chair wearing an orange-saffron robe, a gold necklace and a rudraksha-style bead mala, with hands folded in prayer and a vertical tilak on his forehead; his hair is not long or swept back and the cues are not distinctive enough to name him. Two younger men flank him in white dhotis with yellow shawls and folded hands, one in glasses with a tilak, and a third person kneels behind. A banana-leaf and tree decoration hangs overhead, with a brass vessel, a kalasha-like pot with flowers, and a silver figure on a side table.

A photograph of a ritual at a fire pit (homa) at night. A young priest in the centre wears an orange-saffron dhoti and shawl, a gold-coloured garland and an orange turban with a feathered crest, hands pressed together in prayer. Beside him a man in dark-rimmed glasses and orange cloth with white vibhuti markings on his arms and chest chants, and other seated men in orange and white garments with garlands join in. A standing man in orange stands at the back. In front, a yellow-tiled homa pit holds a small flame, with a brass bowl, a kalasha pot and flower arrangements nearby. A microphone stands at the right edge.

Three young male priests sit outdoors in a garden setting performing a puja. The priest on the left wears orange dhoti, bare chest with white vertical body markings, long tied hair, and a gold-beaded rudraksha mala; he holds a small brass vessel and offerings. The middle priest, wearing spectacles and a brown rudraksha mala, is bare-chested with white markings and orange cloth. The priest on the right, in a white dhoti with bare chest and white markings and a rudraksha mala, holds a microphone and speaks. Brass kalasha vessels, green leaves, flowers and a cloth-wrapped offering sit on a yellow-cloth ritual table, with a striped mat beneath. Other people stand behind, partly visible.

February 26 2013

A photograph of a homa ritual with smoke rising around a stone fire pit. Three shaved-headed priests in white dhotis with maroon borders and gold necklaces sit with palms pressed together in prayer, the central one wearing a white tilak on his forehead. Behind them, seated devotees in white clothes watch, and a plate of offerings with fruit sits on a pedestal at the top right. The setting is an open-sided hall with a round decorative drum-shaped object at right.

Seated devotees meditate with eyes closed in a room with red curtains. Young men and boys wear white dhotis and shawls with gold, red and maroon borders, and dark rudraksha malas. The foreground man has gold bangles and a wristwatch and holds his hands in a mudra on his lap. A boy in the centre has a white forehead mark. Brass oil lamps, a small brass vessel and an orange cloth sit on the floor in front. Standing older men in white are behind them.

Outdoors on bare sandy ground, three men in white dhotis and white kurtas sit cross-legged before a brick fire pit where a flame burns with flower petals scattered on the bricks. The central man wears a yellow shawl and a small microphone clip, and holds a ladle or spoon over the fire. The man on the left, also in a yellow shawl with a rudraksha mala, tends a white cloth laid with brass plates of flowers, fruit, a pineapple, bowls of offerings and a red-wrapped bundle. A third man in white with a mala sits further right near a white cloth with a small plate. Behind them, seated devotees in white and blue sit on the sand, a standing figure in white walks by, and a tent stands at right with a white plastic chair and a camera tripod. This is a homa fire ceremony with offerings.