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Night-time ritual at an open pavilion with a wooden platform spread with yellow marigold garlands, orange and red flowers, fruit, bananas and a copper bowl. Smoke rises through the scene. A bare-chested priest in a purple head cloth, rudraksha mala and gold armband points or gestures over the offerings. Beside him a man in an orange-saffron shawl holds a microphone and sits at the platform. Other attendants in white dhotis and a man with glasses stand nearby, with a gilded ornate seat and a bright lamp overhead. Blurred marigold garlands fill the foreground. The scene reads as an abhishekam-style puja with offerings.

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December 02 20162016-12-02A photo of a ritual abhishekam under a tent-like canopy, with thick incense or camphor smoke drifting through the air. A young priest in an orange saffron cloth holds a microphone and speaks at a wooden platform, while beside him another young man with a pink headband, bare-chested, a rudraksha mala and white dhoti pours or tends a large copper vessel. The platform is heaped with marigold garlands, yellow flowers, bananas, oranges, apples and red blossoms. Lights hang overhead, and a few seated devotees and a bare-chested attendant in white are visible at the edges.2016-12-02A ritual fire ceremony under a tent-like canopy with bright lights and rising smoke. A shirtless young priest with a purple head cloth and beaded necklace leans over a wooden platform holding a metal vessel while a flame rises from it. Another priest in orange cloth and a white-clad assistant stand beside him. Marigold garlands, red flowers, bananas, fruits and a kalasha-like offering decorate the altar, and a young man in glasses wearing a white shawl watches at right. Yellow marigold garlands fill the foreground. Appears to be an abhishekam or homa offering in progress.2016-12-02Two men sit before a brass bowl on a wooden platform strewn with white rice, red petals and yellow flowers, with smoke rising in the foreground. The bare-chested man on the right wears a purple headcloth with a yellow tassel, a red thread around the neck, rudraksha and multi-coloured beaded malas, a white dhoti with a blue border, and a wristwatch; he gestures forward with his right hand. The second man beside him wears a yellow-and-maroon bordered dhoti and gold bangles and holds a handheld microphone. Blurred devotees in white are seated behind them.2016-12-02December 02 20162016-12-02 +1 copiesNight ceremony at an open-air hall with a crowd of devotees standing and seated, many with hands folded in prayer. In the centre, a man in an orange turban and red-and-blue beaded necklace sits on a low wooden platform, holding a lit flame and a small bowl. Marigold garlands and yellow flowers decorate the wooden platform and coconuts in front. Two shirtless attendants in white dhotis sit in the foreground, one wearing a saffron-orange shawl and the other a yellow sash. Strings of lights and a golden ornamental structure appear in the background.2016-12-05 +1 copiesA homa or yagna at a temple pavilion. A bare-chested young priest in an orange dhoti and a sacred thread stands at left holding a brass tray of offerings, and another priest in white dhoti holds a tray of grains and fruit beside him. A priest in a yellow shawl and white dhoti at centre pours an offering into a fire pit on a tiered platform decorated with yellow marigold garlands. Smoke rises through the hall. Behind the fire pit, a golden peetha with a decorated deity murti sits beneath a colourful canopy, with a bell-shaped kalasha and banana, apple and orange fruit offerings on banana-leaf mats in the foreground. Ceiling decorations and hanging lamps are visible, and a microphone is held nearby.2016-12-15September 26 20172017-09-26 +1 copiesDecember 02 20162016-12-02A tented hall decorated with hanging colourful tassels, paper lanterns and oil lamps shows a fire ritual in progress. A bare-chested priest in white dhoti with a striped border, wearing an orange cloth and a flower garland, leans over a wooden homa fire pit on a red carpet, lighting it with a flame while offerings of fruit, flowers and brass vessels surround the pit. Two men in white dhoti stand at left, one speaking into a microphone, others with hands folded. Behind them a large seated crowd, many men bare-chested in white, sits in rows. On the right a seated figure in saffron-orange robes wears a crown-like headdress, rudraksha-style beads and a white flower garland, seated on a gold-and-red throne. The scene reads as a homa with puja offerings.2016-12-05A homa or yagna at an open-sided ceremonial pavilion with a fire pit at centre, rising smoke and a wooden platform bordered by yellow and white flower garlands. A bearded priest in a saffron-yellow shawl over white dhoti stands holding a brass tray of fruit and offerings. Beside him an older man in white dhoti and shawl stands with hands together, and seated devotees in white and yellow clothing fill the background. Brass lamps and oil lamps hang from the ceiling and brass pots and plates sit around the fire. Other devotees in white dhotis and bare-torsoed attire sit on the floor.2016-12-15A photograph of a fire ritual at an outdoor pandal at night, with strong stage lights creating haze. A priest in a white dhoti with a yellow-green sash pours a substance from a brass plate into a tiered ritual platform heaped with yellow and orange marigold garlands and flowers, producing a cloud of smoke. To his left a young man in a white dhoti holds a brass tray of offerings, and at the far left a bare-chested young man in an orange-and-gold dhoti with a beaded necklace stands near a camera on a tripod. Baskets of fruit and bananas sit at the bottom of the platform, and a brass lamp stand and a decorated pink vessel are visible at the right. Colourful hanging lights and tassels decorate the canopy. No figure in the frame is identifiable as a person.2016-12-15