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A smoky homa or fire ritual at a row of white brick fire altars. Several devotees in white clothes sit in a line, several in saffron-orange robes at the right edge. A young boy in white with a red-bordered shawl in the center pours or offers from a brass vessel, with a bronze bowl of offerings and red-cloth items on the altar ledge. A small oil lamp flame glows among the bricks. Smoke fills the upper scene.

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A photograph of a row of devotees performing a ritual outdoors among white brick steps, with smoke or incense haze filling the scene. Several people in white clothing sit or kneel along the steps, holding brass plates and small bowls with lit oil lamps (diyas) and offerings, one bowl holding red and orange cloth. The foremost person, a young woman with dark hair, wears white with a red-striped sash and holds a flame or bowl toward the steps. Others beside her, including a person with glasses and another in orange, also hold offerings. The steps are dotted with red kumkum and small lamps.July 11 20062006-07-11July 11 20062006-07-11A photograph of a seated group of devotees under trees during a ritual. In the foreground a young man with shoulder-length dark hair wears a white garment and an orange shawl, with a gold bracelet on his wrist, looking forward. Beside him a woman in a white sari with a gold border and a red-beaded mala sits with her hands clasped. Rows of seated people in white clothes with orange shawls continue behind them. In front, brass bowls with spoons rest on a stepped platform of bricks, holding flowers and small oil lamps. Other people sit further back among the trees.2008-11-11A photograph of a homa or fire ritual in an outdoor setting. Rows of devotees sit on the ground behind low brick fire pits (kund) with brass vessels, ladles and small offering trays with flowers. Devotees in white clothes and saffron/orange shawls sit with palms pressed together in prayer, some with heads bowed. A flame rises from a pit at the right edge. Several women in the foreground wear white with orange shawls, and one has long hair in a braid. Background shows more seated participants and a canopy.2008-11-11Outdoor homa or yagna in a open-sided pavilion with a palm tree and draped red and pink cloth backdrop. Rows of white-painted bricks form fire pits, with small flames and smoke rising from them. Several people in white clothing sit cross-legged at the pits, one man in a white shirt and white dhoti tending a fire with a brass ladle-like vessel and wooden stick. On the left, a woman in a white sari with a red border and a white forehead mark sits beside a flaming dish and fruit offerings on a woven mat. Many more people in white are seated in the background among the smoke.2006-12-29Outdoor homa at an open-air fire-ritual ground beneath palm trees and strings of orange and white pennants. In the foreground a figure seen from behind, with long dark hair and a white-and-red flower garland, wears an orange robe and sits on a chair before a microphone stand. Rows of participants in white clothes sit around low white-brick fire pits, some holding small bowls or ritual items, while smoke and haze fill the air. Behind them stand more people in white and orange garments, a few with umbrellas and a child visible among the crowd.2006-12-29July 11 20062006-07-11Photograph of several young women seated on the ground performing a fire ritual. They wear white dhotis or sarees with orange shawls draped over their shoulders, and some hold brass ladles and dishes of offerings. Brass bowls and small lamps sit on mats. Smoke drifts through the scene and a woman in the foreground gazes ahead. No visible candidate for a person appears in the frame.2008-11-11A photograph of a homa ritual under a open-sided tent on grass. Rows of seated devotees in white ritual clothes with orange shawls sit with palms pressed together in prayer behind a square fire pit built of stacked bricks, where a small flame burns. Brass bowls and plates with flowers and offerings sit in front of them. A few other people stand in the background at the tent edge.2008-11-11A photograph of a large outdoor ritual under a corrugated metal shelter supported by wooden poles, with trees visible beyond. Many participants sit in rows on mats behind low brick platforms, each holding a lit oil lamp or flame in a brass dish and a long-handled ritual implement. Most men wear white dhotis with orange shawls and some wear white kurtas; the women wear white saris with orange shawls or orange-bordered clothing. Brass plates and bowls with flowers and offerings sit before them, and lamp flames burn throughout the rows. Festoons decorate the poles at the top corners, and a few standing figures in white are visible at the back. This appears to be a group homa or aarti-style fire ritual with oil lamps and offerings.2008-11-11A photograph of a fire ritual with devotees seated on the ground in white clothing. In the foreground, a man in a white shirt and white dhoti with a yellow rosette badge sits at a low brick fire pit where flames are burning, hands joined in prayer. Beside him, a younger boy with glasses and a garland presses his palms together, and a brass vessel with a ladle rests on the ground. Behind them, many men and women in white and pale clothing sit in rows under a white canopy, several with hands folded, amid smoke. Wooden poles wrapped with green leaves frame the scene.2006-07-17