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A photograph of an outdoor homa or yagna at dusk. A fire burns in the centre of a yellow-brick fire pit decorated with red flower petals and white powder, with a brass lamp and oil lamps nearby. Seated on the ground at left, a priest with a pink head cloth, bare chest and rudraksha-style beads, in white dhoti, performs the rite. At centre-right a man in white dhoti and orange-brown shawl sings into a microphone. Two more men in white dhotis, one in a red-orange cloth, sit around the fire. Behind them stands a colourful deity murti with lion figures and a cobra-hooded base. Fruit, flowers and brass vessels lie in front of the pit.

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July 03 20162016-07-03July 03 20162016-07-03February 22 20162016-02-22 +1 copiesOutdoor fire ritual (homa) at night. A tiered yellow brick altar with a blazing fire at its top is decorated with red flower petals and a white powder dusting. Four men in front sit on a green mat: the man at left in an orange shawl and beaded necklaces speaks into a microphone, a man in the center wears a teal cloth and a mala, a man next to him wears an orange shawl and a mala, and a bare-chested man at right wears a red-and-pink shawl and white dhoti. Brass oil lamps, a kalasha-style vessel, bananas, fruit and flower offerings sit on the mat. Behind them rows of seated devotees in white and red garments fill the space, with a painted deity murti at upper left.2016-07-03February 22 20162016-02-22March 06 20162016-03-06 +1 copiesA homa fire ceremony in progress at night inside a bordered fire pit lined with yellow marigold garlands. Large flames and smoke rise from burning wood. Three bare-chested priests sit and kneel around the pit, one reaching toward the fire, with rudraksha and beaded malas, white dhotis with coloured borders and forehead marks. Behind them a few other people sit in orange and red robes. Brass vessels, a kalasha-style pot, fruits, flower garlands and a microphone stand are arranged nearby, and a purple light tints the scene.2013-07-09Night outdoor homa at a brick fire pit filled with burning wood, its flames lit orange against the dark. A bare-chested priest in a white dhoti with an orange-red headcloth raises an offering in his right hand over the fire. Three other men sit behind him on a paved courtyard; the leftmost sings or chants into a microphone stand, and the others wear white and yellow cloths, one with a sacred thread. Around the fire are steel bowls of flowers, fruit, coconuts, vegetables and kumkum-marked offerings, with a purple cloth and a lit lamp on a side table. Pink and red flower petals decorate the fire pit's edge. No visible a person candidate.2013-07-04A night homa at a fire pit lined with flower petals. A flame rises from the central square pit, with a standing priest in white dhoti and shawl at the top of the frame and several seated priests in white around the pit. One seated priest in the right foreground has a gold necklace and folded hands. A seated priest at centre right, with hands joined in prayer, wears white, with a rudraksha-style necklace and a shaved head. Brass vessels, a brass lamp and fruit offerings sit on the left and right. Behind the pit, a brass lamp burns beside a deity murti decorated with red flower garlands and a golden kalasha-like vessel with fruit. Strings of lights glow in the background. No clearly distinctive a person cues are visible in the frame, so the candidate is unsure.2010-10-16 +1 copiesOutdoor homa ritual at night before a decorated shrine. A fire burns in a tiered brick fire pit strewn with rose petals. A shirtless priest in a green cloth and white dhoti pours an offering from a brass vessel with a ladle into the flames, while other shirtless men in white dhotis sit nearby, one in a green headband and one with a rudraksha-style neck cord. Behind them a decorated ratha-style structure with lions, white garlands, fruit and a figure in orange sits at the top of the frame. On the right, a man in orange and white sits at microphones. Brass pots, banana leaves and marigold petals lie on the ground, and a few onlookers' heads are visible in the foreground. No one is identified as a person in this image.2016-07-04October 11 20142014-10-11June 12 20042004-06-12