Skip to content
Nithyanandapedia
A dusty dirt road procession moves toward a tall, colourful ratha chariot with a tiered, multicoloured dome topped by a golden finial and orange flags. Ahead, several people carry large umbrellas in yellow, red and green, and a row of orange and saffron flags with blue emblems is raised above the crowd. Many participants wear white dhotis, white kurtas and white saris with yellow or white shawls, and some carry small items in their hands. A few women wear saffron and orange saris. Spectators and walkers line the road, with a white vehicle and a pickup on the right and a smoky haze in the background.

More like this

Open the gallery
December 29 20092009-12-29December 29 20092009-12-29A procession on a dirt path through a campus under construction, with saffron and red flags on poles and a decorated ornate chariot or ratha with a golden kalasha-style canopy in the background. Many participants in white clothing and some in orange, several wearing lanyards, walk along; a woman in orange sari and a man in white hold up flags. Bamboo barriers line the path, young men in green and red shirts watch, and palm fronds and flowering trees frame the scene. Bunting strung overhead and a stage with red and blue decorations sit beyond the procession route.2009-12-29A festival procession on a dirt path lined with palm trees and a low wall. A large ornate ratha (chariot) with a colourful multi-tiered canopy, decorated with bright painted panels and small umbrellas, is pulled forward. Many devotees walk alongside wearing white and cream clothes. Women in white sarees with yellow borders carry orange flags bearing a bird emblem. A woman in an orange patterned blouse and a man in a white shirt with a lanyard walk near the front. An older man in white kurta and a rudraksha-style mala walks at right, holding a flower-decorated handle. Several people hold up orange and white cloth flags. The scene shows a crowd of roughly 50 people in total.2009-12-29December 29 20092009-12-29December 29 20092009-12-29A large outdoor religious procession moves along a dirt road lined with bamboo poles, with a palm tree at upper left and dry scrubland behind. Many devotees in white and cream clothing, with some in orange and saffron, walk in orderly rows, many women wearing white saris with coloured borders. Some carry ceremonial items and saffron flags. A decorated chariot with a yellow and orange canopy and colourful ornamentation sits at upper right, beside a white vehicle and loudspeakers. A man in a blue shirt and jeans walks in the foreground holding a red and orange flag. The crowd appears to number in the dozens to low hundreds.2009-12-27December 29 20092009-12-29December 29 20092009-12-29A large outdoor procession on a dusty unpaved road moves past a richly decorated ratha, a chariot-like shrine with a tiered, multicoloured pavilion roof covered in painted panels and topped by a kalasha. Garlands of yellow flowers hang along its sides, and a deity murti is visible within. Crowds of devotees in white kurtas and sarees walk alongside, with many holding orange-saffron flags and some carrying umbrellas. A few women in sarees and a man in a blue shirt are at the front. The chariot is flanked by orange flags, and a banner stands on the left among trees under a hazy sky. Roughly fifty to a hundred people are visible.2009-12-29December 29 20092009-12-29Outdoor procession on a dusty dirt road with many people walking behind a decorated ratha/palanquin-style float topped by a temple-like canopy with a seated figure. Men in white dhotis and women in white saris with yellow borders walk among orange flags and ornate fringed parasols with blue and red motifs. Drummers carry a drum and cymbal in the foreground, and a man in a striped shirt plays cymbals. A man in white with an orange shawl holds a ritual item near the center.2009-12-29