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A nighttime outdoor fire ritual on grass. At centre, a bare-chested man in an orange-saffron dhoti with a pink sash and a red garland stands before a burning fire pit (homa) built of bricks, with flower offerings and brass vessels nearby. Smoke drifts across the scene. To the left, a man in white dhoti with glasses holds a microphone and stands beside a shirtless man. Behind them, people stand with hands folded in prayer. On the right, a woman in red sits with palms pressed together, and seated devotees in white and blue clothes watch. A standing fan stands in the background. Several seated audience members in white shirts are in the foreground.

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December 11 20152015-12-11December 11 20152015-12-11December 11 20152015-12-11Night outdoor ritual photo. In the foreground, a figure seen from behind, bare-backed with a pink waist cloth and orange dhoti, wears a red and white flower necklace and stands before a fire pit. The fire pit is built of bricks with flames, smoke and marigold garlands. Beyond it, a seated man on a red-brown chair wears a red-orange shawl, gold necklace, rudraksha mala and a dark topknot, with hands folded in his lap. Behind him, a seated audience in white and orange clothing watches, some with hands joined. A white electric fan and white plastic chair are visible at left. Marigold petals are scattered on the grass.2015-12-11Night outdoor ritual on grass beside a brick fire pit (homa) with flames, smoke and marigold garlands. In the foreground a man in an orange dhoti with a pink upper cloth bends over the fire, pouring offerings. At left a man in white dhoti sits with a small brass lamp. Behind them a line of seated devotees in white and cream clothes with red-and-white beaded necklaces watch. On the right a man in a dark cap and red-brown robe sits with hands in anjali mudra before a red leather chair. A standing man in an orange robe stands at top left. A white fan stands on a pole behind the fire.2015-12-11Night photo of an outdoor fire ritual on grass. A bare-chested priest in an orange dhoti with a pink cloth over his shoulder pours liquid from a brass vessel onto a flaming fire pit lined with bricks and decorated with marigold garlands. Behind him a seated man in a red-orange robe with a shawl and beaded necklaces sits in a red-cushioned chair, with a long dark swept-back hairstyle and a crown-like headdress, appearance. Around the fire, a crowd of about twenty seated and standing participants in white and orange clothes watches, and a man with palms pressed together stands at the left. Marigold petals lie on the ground.2015-12-11Night outdoor homa at a ceremony ground. A fire pit with burning wood sits in front, with smoke rising. On the left, a red-draped table holds deity murti garlanded with flowers, lamps and offerings. Priests in white dhotis and orange or saffron garments stand and sit near the fire; one man in a white dhoti pours or offers from a kalasha-like pot while others chant with hands folded. A seated man in orange clothes with rudraksha malas sits on the right beside a red chair. Dozens of seated attendees in white and light clothes with name badges face the fire from the foreground, and a standing fan and tripod light are visible. No individual can be confidently identified as a person from appearance.2015-12-11Night outdoor fire ritual, a homa or yagna, on grass. A brick fire pit with burning flames sits at the center, decorated with yellow and orange marigold garlands and scattered petals. A standing fan stands behind the fire. In the foreground at left, a bare-backed man in an orange dhoti with a pink sash and red beaded necklace faces the fire. Behind them, about a dozen seated devotees in white clothes and red beads watch quietly in the dark.2015-12-11December 11 20152015-12-11December 11 20152015-12-11December 11 20152015-12-11Night-time outdoor homa at a Nithyanandoham session. A small wood fire burns in a brick-lined pit on grass, with smoke rising and offerings and brass vessels laid nearby. Several priests in white dhotis and saffron-coloured garments stand and kneel behind a draped red-covered altar holding a deity murti and flower garlands, with an oil lamp burning at the left. A man with a shaved head in saffron and rudraksha mala stands at the altar, while a bare-chested man in white dhoti kneels near the fire. Seated devotees in the foreground wear white and saffron, many with red garlands. A white plastic chair and fan sit in the background, and a pale-robed figure with a rudraksha mala sits in a white armchair at right, among others in orange. The scene is lit by a lamp and the fire.2015-12-11