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Night-time homa ritual at an outdoor temple setting strung with coloured fairy lights and green bunting. A standing priest in white dhoti and bare upper body, with a rudraksha-style necklace, leans over a square fire pit filled with glowing embers and tends the fire with a long stick. Seated white-clad participants in the foreground, some with shaved heads and folded hands, watch and assist; brass trays of flowers and offerings sit near them. Behind the fire pit is a decorated shrine with a pink Ganesha deity murti, garlands of marigold and white flowers, a kalasha-style ornament and a decorated canopy.

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October 15 20102010-10-15October 16 20102010-10-16 +1 copiesNight outdoor homa at an ashram. A standing priest in an orange-saffron upper cloth and white dhoti holds a flaming ladle over a square fire pit, flames rising in front of him. Around the pit, five seated priests in white dhotis and white upper cloths, some wearing rudraksha malas and gold-toned necklaces, sit on mats and watch or chant. Tall dry palm fronds stand beside the pit, and garlands of orange and white flowers lie around the base. To the right, a large Ganesha murti with a red and gold garment and a brass lamp stand decorated with marigold garlands. Behind them, a wall is covered in strings of multicolour lights, with smoke drifting upward and a bright floodlight above.2010-10-16 +1 copiesNight outdoor fire ritual at a homa pit, with flames rising from a raised square fire pit. A standing priest in white dhoti and cream shawl with a beaded necklace holds a small lamp and a ritual item near the flame. Several seated priests in white clothes sit around the pit, one with a beaded necklace and one in an orange-toned wrap. Brass plates of offerings and nuts sit on a cloth in the foreground. Behind them a decorated shrine has a ganesha murti with a bright yellow-orange trunk and flower garlands, a brass lamp stand with lit wicks, and strings of red and white lights. Tall decorated poles with colourful bands and green leaves frame the scene.2010-10-16 +1 copiesOctober 16 20102010-10-16 +1 copiesNight photograph of a homa fire ritual at an outdoor temple space lit with strings of coloured lights. A standing priest in white dhoti and shawl, with a rudraksha-style mala around his neck, holds a flaming torch over a square fire pit lined with brass vessels and offerings. A seated priest with a shaved head, bare upper body and a gold necklace tends items at the left edge. Several young boys in white dhotis sit on the stone platform with folded hands, and other white-clad devotees stand behind. Behind them are colourful decorated deity figures including an elephant-headed Ganesha in pink, a decorated deity murti and floral garlands, with a brass oil lamp at the right. Overall, the scene shows a fire ritual in progress with participants in traditional white attire.2010-10-16 +1 copiesOctober 16 20102010-10-16 +1 copiesOctober 16 20102010-10-16 +2 copiesNight-time Hindu ritual outdoors beside a Ganesha murti decorated with marigold garlands and colourful string lights. Several shaved-headed men in white dhoti-style cloths and gold necklaces sit cross-legged on mats, one holds a brass plate of puffed rice or grains. A person in a red-and-gold shawl bends forward over a raised square fire or homa platform with offerings, while a man in white robes sits behind it near a brass kalasha and lamps. Oil lamps burn on the altar and smoke rises from the ritual area.2010-10-15Night ritual homa at an outdoor ashram courtyard lit by strings of fairy lights. A square brick fire pit with flower-strewn stone edges holds a fire at its centre. Several shaven-headed priests in white dhotis and white shawls, wearing gold beaded necklaces, sit or stand around it; one bends to pour an offering while another seated priest raises an arm. Brass oil lamps with flames, fruit and flower offerings, and red and white garlands sit on a red cloth. Behind them stands a pink Ganesha murti with a golden crown and an additional deity figure in green and gold. A cameraman in white stands at the back.2010-10-16 +1 copiesOctober 16 20102010-10-16 +1 copiesOctober 16 20102010-10-16 +1 copies