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A photograph of a fire ritual (homa) in a temple hall. A large flame rises from a square fire pit built of stacked brick-like blocks, decorated with white and coloured rangoli-style patterns. A bare-chested priest in a blue headcloth and white dhoti stands at the right, holding his hand over the fire. Around the pit are seated priests in white dhotis and shawls, and yellow marigold garlands drape the pot-shaped vessels in front. Bananas and fruit sit on a plate near the pit, and a dark carved wooden door stands in the background.

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A homa fire ritual at night in a courtyard. A central fire blazes in a brick fire pit, and a priest bare-chested in a white dhoti with a red turban pours offerings into it from a brass vessel. Around the pit are marigold garlands, bowls of fruit, apples, brass vessels and kalasha pots draped in cloth. Several men sit on mats in white dhotis and rudraksha malas, and one man in saffron clothing is at the right edge. A man in the foreground with his back to the camera wears a rudraksha mala. Floral decorations and fruit offerings cover the ground around the fire.2016-08-05September 28 20162016-09-28A homa fire ritual inside a brick-walled hall. A shaven-headed man in an orange-saffron cloth draped over his shoulders sits at a square brick fire pit where large flames rise, with marigold garlands and offerings arranged around it. A bare-chested priest in white dhoti with a yellow head band sits on the right beside a second fire pit, and other white-clad men attend in the background. A man in an orange head wrap on the left holds a brass bowl near the fire. Copper pots, banana-leaf plates and bundles of sticks lie on the floor.2016-10-16January 06 20182018-01-06Priests perform a homa fire ritual inside a brick-walled space at dusk. A large brick fire pit holds blazing flames, surrounded by marigold garlands, brass vessels, bundles of sticks in a basket, and a bowl of grains. Seated priests wear white dhotis, bare upper bodies, and orange or saffron shawls and headcloths; one wears an orange headcloth and holds a bowl over the fire, another in an orange shawl sits cross-legged at the pit, and others tend to a second fire pit in the background. Garlanded brass pots and offerings are arranged on a striped mat. A bearded figure in white stands at the left edge.2016-10-16A photograph of a night homa (fire ritual) in a dimly lit temple-like open hall. A large fire burns in a rectangular brick fire pit on the right, surrounded by offerings and a brass vessel. In the foreground a shirtless man in white dhoti with a blue border sits cross-legged before a tray of yellow marigold flowers. Behind him several priests in white dhotis wear rudraksha-style beaded necklaces, with a person in saffron-orange robes standing on a raised platform at upper left. Yellow flower garlands hang on the left and a decorated kalasha stands near the fire.2016-09-28A homa fire burns in a brick fire pit at the centre of a stone-walled hall, surrounded by marigold garlands and brass vessels. A bare-chested man with a white dhoti and orange shawl, with a tilak on his forehead, sits cross-legged before the fire. Around him, priests in white dhotis and orange clothing tend the ritual, one holding a brass pot and another feeding offerings into the flames. A second fire burns in the background, and a woven basket of sticks and offering materials sits at right. Copyright overlay text appears on the image.2016-10-16A homa fire burns in a brick fire pit at the centre of the frame, with bright flames rising from the square altar. Around it, priests sit on the floor in white dhotis and orange cloths. A young priest in front, bare-chested with a tilak on his forehead and an orange shawl over his shoulder, tends the fire. Behind him, other priests with rudraksha malas sit before trays of marigold and yellow flower garlands and brass vessels. Pale stone-block walls and a corrugated roof frame the scene, and a standing woman in a white sari with orange border stands in the background. Offering sticks and a basket lie in the foreground.2016-10-16A photograph of a fire ritual at night. A bare-chested priest in white dhoti sits cross-legged before a large flame rising from a fire pit built of wooden blocks, offering into the fire with a small vessel in his hand. A second figure in the foreground, wearing a yellow-green cloth draped over the shoulder, sits with back to the camera facing the fire. Brass vessels, a kalasha-style pot, and baskets of yellow marigold garlands are arranged around the fire, along with red flower offerings on the wooden blocks and a small oil lamp at the lower left. Homa or yagna fire ritual.2018-01-05September 27 20172017-09-27Evening fire ritual in an open brick-walled courtyard. A large square homa fire pit with a bright flame sits at centre, surrounded by garlands of yellow and orange flowers, bowls of offerings, fruit and green leaves. A priest in white dhoti with a bare upper body and a red-orange headcloth sits at the left and tends the fire with a ladle. Another priest in a white dhoti and orange sash sits behind the fire pit, with a second fire and more ritual participants visible in the background. A woman with glasses and a flower garland sits at the right. Several other people in white dhotis are seated or standing in the background.2016-10-16A homa fire burns in a yellow-brick fire pit decorated with yellow and red flowers and scattered petals. A bare-chested priest with an orange head wrap and a brown-and-blue striped dhoti sits at left, pouring an offering from a long brass ladle into a brass vessel. Other priests in white dhotis with gold borders stand and sit behind the fire, and brass pots of flowers sit in the foreground.2018-01-05