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A night-time temple ritual photographed up close. A bare-chested priest with white sacred ash markings on his chest and arms and a gold necklace raises a small brass bell in his right hand while holding a brass lamp tray. Beside him another man with white forehead markings and a yellow-orange cloth wrapped on his head stands with his back to the camera. Behind them an ornate deity murti stands in a gilded arched shrine, decorated with heavy garlands of yellow marigolds and red roses, with brass oil lamps in the foreground. Another figure, wearing an orange head wrap and yellow garland, faces the altar. Banana leaves frame the top left.

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Night-time temple puja before a large, richly garlanded deity murti. Several priests stand in the foreground: a young priest on the left wears a rudraksha-style necklace and white body markings, while a priest in the centre raises a metal incense holder with smoke rising, and another bare-chested priest with white sacred ash stripes holds a small bell. Brass oil lamps stand on the lower right, and the deity is decorated with white, yellow and red flower garlands, a gold crown and a dark face. Ornate gilded arches and banana leaves frame the scene.2016-12-19Night-time temple ritual photograph showing a deity murti richly decorated with garlands of yellow marigolds, red roses and white flowers, with a gold crown and gold-embroidered canopy. Several young priests in the foreground wear orange and saffron cloths, white body markings and gold necklaces; one holds a brass lamp and another raises a ritual lamp near the murti. A man in a saffron-orange turban stands with his back to the camera before the decorated deity, and a dark bronze figure with garlands is at the right edge. Banana leaves frame the scene, and a gold shrine arch stands behind. This appears to be an aarti or puja at a temple shrine.2016-12-19Night temple ritual in front of a richly decorated deity murti on a golden peetha, draped in multicolour flower garlands with yellow and red blossoms and green leaves. To the right, a black stone statue of a standing sage is garlanded in white flowers. Several young priests stand in the foreground with bare upper bodies, white vibhuti or sandal markings on their skin, and saffron or orange dhotis; one holds a silver tray and another offers aarti with a lamp in a silver stand. Several brass oil lamps are lit along the front. A banana stalk decorates the right edge. Four people are visible.2016-12-19Night temple worship before a richly garlanded deity murti decorated with red, white and yellow flower garlands and a crown. In the foreground a bare-chested priest with white sacred markings and an orange cloth around his waist holds a lit lamp toward the deity. A second priest in an orange waist cloth and a shoulder sacred thread stands with his back to the camera. Behind them a golden-framed shrine holds another decorated figure, and a black stone statue on the right wears a white dhoti and garland. Banana stalks, brass lamps and marigold garlands fill the frame.2016-12-19Night-time temple puja before an ornately decorated deity murti on a golden peetha, the figure draped in thick garlands of yellow, red and white flowers with a crown and a tall decorated backdrop. Three priests in orange-saffron dhotis stand at left and centre: one bare-chested with white sacred markings and a gold-beaded mala, one holding a multi-tiered brass aarti lamp with burning flames, and one with hands folded beside it. A fourth priest in an orange wrap stands with his back to the camera at right, and a dark stone deity figure with a garland stands further right. Banana leaves and a plantain-style garland frame the scene, with smoke rising from the lamp.2016-12-19December 19 20162016-12-19December 19 20162016-12-19Photograph of a temple shrine during worship. Two shirtless priests in orange dhotis, one wearing a green and gold turban, stand at the altar offering garlands. Their bodies have white sacred ash markings. They are adorning a deity murti with yellow and red garlands, banana bunches, and white flower strands. A black stone murti stands at right draped in white and red garlands, and a brass lamp sits in the foreground. Gold ornaments and a crown-like headpiece crown the central deity figure. No candidate for a person is clearly visible.2016-12-19December 19 20162016-12-19A photograph of a temple ritual inside a tented hall. In the foreground, a young man with a tied-up topknot, bare chest, orange dhoti, a rudraksha-style orange bead necklace and a gold pendant holds a large brass multi-tiered aarti lamp with lit flames. Beside him, a priest in orange dhoti and a green-and-gold headpiece with white ash markings and a white flower garland holds his hands together in prayer. A third figure with an orange cloth on the head and bare back stands with a white flower garland. Behind them is an ornate golden and jewelled deity murti framed by garlands of white jasmine, red and yellow flowers, and banana leaves. Brass oil lamps with yellow marigold garlands stand on the red floor, and women in saris are visible in the background.2016-12-19December 19 20162016-12-19Evening aarti at a temple-style pavilion with a golden deity murti under a decorated arch, its shrine wreathed in banana leaves, marigold garlands and red flowers. Three men in saffron-orange dhotis stand at the centre: the foremost holds a multi-tiered lamp with lit wicks and a long ritual lamp handle, the middle one wears a green-and-gold crown and white vibhuti marks, and a third man with a shaved head and orange turban faces the shrine from behind, bare-backed, wearing a white sacred thread. Black stone lingams and brass lamps line the altar, and women in saris stand at the left edge.2016-12-19