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Night photograph of an outdoor pond-side ceremony lit by floodlights and string lights. In the foreground a person with long hair tied up at the back, bare-backed and wearing an orange-saffron dhoti with a maroon border, holds a lit oil lamp (aarti) over the water toward a decorated raised platform with a golden canopy and a seated deity murti under a red-draped stage. A second man in a white dhoti and shawl stands at the left edge of the water holding a camera. Tiered stone seating along the right side is filled with a large crowd of devotees, and a screen above shows an image. Colourful lights line the walls and structures in the background.

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December 11 20162016-12-11December 11 20162016-12-11 +1 copiesDecember 11 20162016-12-11 +1 copiesA night photograph of an outdoor sacred ceremony beside a reflecting water tank, with a large ornate golden and white decorated structure at its centre, a palanquin-like shrine or chariot with a deity murti area. In the foreground a person in orange clothing with long dreadlocked hair, wearing a beaded orange-and-gold rudraksha-style necklace, holds up a tall tiered lamp stand of lit oil lamps (aarti). Other figures in white and orange stand near the shrine, and dense seated crowds fill the stepped stands on both sides under bright floodlights. A figure in the foreground appears to be a sannyasi performing aarti; the shrine's ceremonial role is consistent with a procession or ritual. Visible lights and a few additional lit lamps are scattered along the water's edge.2017-02-24February 24 20172017-02-24Night-time photograph of an outdoor temple tank at a Karthigai Deepam celebration. A bare-chested priest in an orange dhoti with a gold border stands at the water's edge with his back to the camera, holding up a tiered brass deepam lamp with several flames. Beaded bracelets and a sacred thread are visible. Behind him, a crowd sits on tiered steps lit by floodlights, and a small deity murti sits on a gold-and-red platform in the water. A large screen and a crane-mounted camera stand at the side.2016-12-12December 12 20162016-12-12Night photo of a temple-side Deepam ceremony at a large open-air stage with a water-filled pool. A bare-chested man with long dark curly hair, wearing an orange dhoti with gold borders and a white sash over his shoulder, faces away from the camera and holds up a tall multi-tiered brass lamp with several lit flames while ringing a small handbell. Ornamental red-orange beaded bracelets are on his wrists and white sacred markings on his arms. In front of him a golden throne-like seat with a red cloth stands on a red-draped platform, and a dark stone shivalinga-style structure with a yellow cloth is behind it. Strings of lights decorate the tiers, a crane-mounted camera overhead, and a large crowd of seated devotees fills the stands. a person: long swept-back hair, orange ornamental clothing and beaded wrist malas are visible cues for the lamp-holder.2016-12-12February 24 20172017-02-24February 24 20172017-02-24February 24 20172017-02-24Night photograph of an outdoor ceremony at a large illuminated tank with stone steps lined by a dense seated crowd on both sides. Four attendants in orange and saffron garments with long dreadlocked hair stand at the water's edge holding tall lit oil lamp torches aloft. A fifth attendant bare-chested in a white dhoti stands at the right edge. Across the water an ornate golden structure with a canopy and kalasha-like top shelters a deity murti and a group of robed priests seated on low platforms. Strings of lights, a decorated backdrop and a striped cloth mat in the foreground complete the scene.2017-02-24