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A priest with a shaved head and bare torso sits in a gilded shrine decorated with palm fronds, mango leaves and painted cloth banners showing elephants and flowers. He is making offerings before a deity murti draped in a red and white cloth, with a floral garland, while brass oil lamps, a kalasha-style vessel, bowls of flowers and fruit, and a small bell lie on a patterned mat in front. A mobile phone is propped at the bottom edge of the frame. The setting appears to be a Rathasaptami puja at a temple shrine.

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A priest performs puja at a golden-painted shrine decorated for Rathasaptami. He sits bare-chested with white sacred markings on his body, working over a brass tray and oil lamps in front of a deity murti adorned with white and red flower garlands. Green mango-leaf torana hangs above, and tall palm fronds and painted cloth pillars with elephant and floral designs flank the shrine. Carved golden columns and ornate cornices frame the scene, with trees visible behind.2023-01-28A photograph of a gilded temple shrine decorated for a festival, with palm fronds and a mango-leaf garland framing the opening. Inside, a deity murti wrapped in white and red garlands sits in a niche. A shirtless priest with a white-marked body and a red cloth around his waist kneels before it, handling brass ritual vessels and a plate of flowers. Brass bells and oil lamps sit on the floor, and colourful painted cloth hangings with elephant and lotus motifs flank the doorway. A phone is propped on a stand in the foreground.2023-01-28A photograph of a shrine decorated for Rathasaptami celebrations at Sripuram in Hyderabad. A bare-chested priest with grey hair and a red dhoti sits cross-legged in a golden niche, performing puja before a black stone deity murti draped in red cloth and wreathed in white and red flower garlands. Brass oil lamps, a kalasha-style brass vessel, plates of yellow flowers and a banana-leaf offering surround him. Two tall cloth pillars wrapped in green, red, blue and yellow with painted elephant and bird motifs flank the doorway, framed by mango leaf toran and palm fronds. The golden carved facade rises above.2023-01-28Jan 28 2023 sripuram2023-01-28Jan 28 2023 sripuram2023-01-28A priest in a red dhoti with bare upper body kneels before an ornate shrine niche in a gilded temple, offering flowers from a brass plate and working near brass oil lamps and bells. The deity murti inside is dressed in red and white garments and garlanded with white and red flowers. Mango leaf torans hang across the top of the niche, flanked by tall palm fronds and two cloth-wrapped pillars painted with elephant, flower and bird motifs in red, blue, green and orange. A woven rug lies on the floor in the foreground.2023-01-28Jan 28 2023 sripuram2023-01-28A photograph of a temple shrine decorated for a festival. A deity murti, dark-faced with a white crown and garlanded with red and white flowers, sits in a gold-framed niche. Mango leaves hang across the top, and tall palm fronds frame the entrance. Two decorative cloth banners, painted in red, blue, green and yellow with an elephant on one and a cow-like motif on the other, flank the doorway. A priest in a white dhoti with bare upper body stands at the left, facing the deity and holding a small book. Brass oil lamps, a bell, plates of flowers and fruit sit on a yellow-cloth altar below, with a woven striped mat on the floor. Visible people: one priest.2023-01-28Jan 28 2023 sripuram2023-01-28A photograph inside a decorated shrine during a puja. A shirtless man with grey hair, wearing a rudraksha mala and red dhoti, kneels at left with his hands folded and a small book open before him. Behind him stands a black stone deity murti draped in a red and gold silk garment, adorned with garlands of white and magenta flowers and a silver crown. Mango leaves hang above, palm fronds frame the scene, and brass vessels, oil lamps, yellow marigold flowers and a platter of fruit and blossoms sit on a yellow floral-painted altar in the foreground.2023-01-28Photograph of a shrine niche in an outdoor temple pavilion with carved golden-yellow wooden pillars and an ornately carved cornice. Inside the niche sits a deity murti dressed with white flower garlands and red flower offerings, with brass oil lamps and brass vessels set in front. Green mango leaf festoons and tall palm fronds frame the shrine, and two striped cloth banners in red, green, blue and yellow with printed elephant and flower motifs hang on either side. Bare tree branches and a plastered wall are visible outside the pavilion.2023-01-28A photograph inside a golden-framed shrine niche at a temple. A bare-chested priest in an orange dhoti sits cross-legged on the floor with palms pressed together in prayer, his head bowed, with white sandalwood markings on his arms and chest and a rudraksha mala around his neck. Behind him stands a black-stone deity murti adorned with a silver crown, a red and gold cloth, a silver necklace and yellow and white flower garlands, with a tall brass lamp stand beside it. Red and yellow flowers rest on a dark pedestal, and a small red figure with flowers sits at the priest's side. Marigold and leaf offerings in brass bowls and a plate lie in the foreground, along with a small brass Ganesha figure.2022-01-14