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Night-time ritual at a temple courtyard in Tiruvannamalai. A shaven-headed priest in white dhoti and white upper cloth leans over a brass puja tray with lit lamps and offerings, tending a shivalingam garlanded with yellow and red flowers. Rows of similar lingams, each wrapped in white cloth and garlanded, extend across the stone platform. Seated devotees in the foreground, several women in saris and their hair in long braids, watch from the steps. A tall brass lamp stand with oil lamps stands at the lower left. Striped red and white steps and a dark sky frame the scene.

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April 17 20112011-04-17April 17 20112011-04-17Night-time outdoor ritual at a large open-air venue lit by strings of small lamps. In the foreground, a priest in a white dhoti and light shawl holds a lit oil lamp or camphor flame over a brass tray of puja vessels on a low platform. Behind him, rows of seated participants in white clothing with yellow-orange garlands fill the striped platform. Silhouetted devotees in the lower foreground face the ritual. A second seated figure in white with garlands sits to the right, wearing a tall white headdress. Pillars and floodlights frame the scene.2011-04-17April 17 20112011-04-17Night outdoor ritual at Tiruvannamalai. In the foreground, many black lingam-shaped stones are dressed in white cloth with red-and-gold borders and yellow-and-red flower garlands, arranged on a white floor. Behind them, a seated figure in a white turban and white cloth sits at the front, and a younger man in white dhoti with a red-striped cloth sits nearby. Oil lamps flicker on the ground to the right, and a large crowd of seated and standing people in white clothes and colourful saris fills the background. A tall white pillar stands at left and a string of small orange lights runs along the back under street lamps.2011-04-17April 17 20112011-04-17Night photograph of an outdoor ritual at Tiruvannamalai Adheenam. In the foreground a bare-chested priest in a white dhoti raises a flaming camphor aarti lamp toward the dark sky. Behind him rows of seated figures in white garments wear marigold garlands and sit before a row of metal vessels on striped steps. Strings of small lights hang between concrete pillars in the background.2011-04-17April 17 20112011-04-17April 17 20112011-04-17April 17 20112011-04-17Night outdoor ritual at a temple-like ground lit by street lamps and small lights. Two priests in white dhotis with red-bordered shawls stand on a raised area performing aarti with lit oil lamps, one holding a flame in each hand. Brass ritual implements rest on mats in front of them. Rows of seated devotees, mostly in white, watch and fold their hands in prayer. Along the left, many small black and white stone idols with yellow flower garlands sit on a long platform with white pillars. The crowd fills the background.2011-04-17April 17 20112011-04-17