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Several men in white dhotis, some bare-chested with red-and-white sacred threads, bend over a ceremonial fire pit amid thick smoke and drifting incense. Flower garlands of white, pink and yellow blossoms are laid on a brass stand or peetha. Brass vessels, a lit oil lamp and yellow marigold heaps sit on the floor, with a dark cloth-wrapped figure near the centre. Smoke fills the warm, purple-tinted air.