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A photograph of a fire ritual, a homa with tall orange flames and smoke rising from a fire pit in the foreground. Four men stand behind and beside the fire. On the left, a man in white dhoti and shawl with gold chain and horizontal white tilak holds a microphone in one hand and a gesture in the other. The center man wears an orange wrap, a white-and-orange headdress, a rudraksha mala and beaded necklaces, with palms pressed together in prayer. To his right, a bare-chested man in a white dhoti with gold border and beaded mala presses his hands together. Behind them are marigold garlands, banana leaves, a brass kalasha-style vessel and a stone pillared hall with colourful cloth decorations.

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April 14 20182018-04-14A homa fire blazes in the foreground of a temple hall, with tall flames and smoke rising from a pit of offerings. A man at left in white dhoti and shawl with vertical white tilak and a gold necklace holds a microphone and presses his palms together. In the centre a man in orange saffron robes, rudraksha mala and a layered bead-and-silver necklace with a patterned headpiece folds his hands in prayer. At right a man in white dhoti and gold-bordered shawl with a grey-white beaded necklace and a black headwrap joins his palms. Banana leaves, marigold garlands, a ceremonial staff and a red-and-gold decorated pillar frame the scene. Whether the central saffron-robed man is a person cannot be determined from appearance.2018-04-14April 14 20182018-04-14April 14 20182018-04-14A photograph of a night fire ritual under a corrugated metal roof. A bright fire burns in a low stone-rimmed pit in the foreground, with smoke rising. Several men stand around it with palms pressed together in namaste. The man second from left wears a white dhoti with gold borders and a white upper cloth, with rudraksha beads around his neck. Beside him a man in a saffron-orange upper cloth and a bare-chested man stand with hands folded. At left edge a woman in an orange sari also folds her hands. Several men in brown and rust-coloured robes with gold-bordered cloths stand in the background. On the right, a bare-chested man in a golden-bordered orange dhoti stands near a man in a white shirt and checked lungi. A purple logo appears at top left.2013-09-04 +2 copiesA photograph of a sacred fire ritual inside a richly decorated Hindu temple hall with pink and silver shrine alcoves holding deity murtis. A large blazing homa fire rises from a stacked brick fire pit topped with a tiered ornate golden altar, decorated with red flowers. On the left, a bare-chested priest in white dhoti with a saffron-coloured shawl and rudraksha mala sits with hands folded, beside a standing man in white dhoti with a saffron sash and a yellow-brown headwrap seated near him. On the right, a young man in white dhoti and purple-striped sash bends forward tending the fire. Seated devotees in white and orange clothes watch in the background, and green mats cover the floor.2016-07-02Night-time homa at an open-air temple pavilion. In the foreground a large fire burns in a tiered yagna kunda decorated with marigold garlands and red kumkum. Behind it a priest in white dhoti with a saffron-and-gold shawl holds a vessel over the flames and offers oblations, while a second priest in cream dhoti with a gold border holds a bundle of kusha grass beside him. At right a man in a saffron dhoti with a red rudraksha mala and bare chest, hands folded in anjali, stands by a table of flowers and offerings. Behind them more white-clad priests tend additional fire pits under bamboo-supported roofing, with a deity shrine lit at the back. Coconuts, flowers and brass pots sit on the ground.2018-03-02June 05 20122012-06-05July 16 20152015-07-16July 16 20152015-07-16A nighttime homa at a brick fire pit bordered with yellow marigold garlands, with a large open flame rising from the centre. A man in white dhoti and shawl sits at the left, speaking into a microphone. At right, a bare-chested bearded man wearing a red rudraksha mala and orange-and-pink cloth holds a ritual implement and an offering over the fire, with a metal bowl of grain and a small bell nearby. Behind them, roughly a dozen seated devotees in white clothing with red-and-white lanyards press their palms together while some hold offerings, and smoke drifts through the scene.2015-12-11July 16 20152015-07-16