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A large crowd of devotees sits on the floor of a temple hall with stone pillars, watching a ritual at a small blue wooden platform in the centre. Bare-chested priests in white dhotis, one with a shaved head and glasses, sit around offerings of fruit, flowers, a brass kalasha and oil lamps. Behind them, two elaborately decorated deity murtis are draped with bright garlands of orange and yellow flowers, and a banana plant stands beside a pillar. Women in saris and older men in white shirts sit among the crowd. Most people here are seated, with some standing at the back, and the scene reads as an abhishekam or puja in a South Indian temple.

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April 05 20122012-04-05April 05 20122012-04-05April 05 20122012-04-05April 05 20122012-04-05A crowded temple hall with a dense audience seated on the floor in front of a shrine decorated with garlands and flower-draped deity murtis. A bare-chested man in white dhoti with a wrap stands at the centre holding a garland, while a shirtless priest in a white dhoti performs a ritual at a small table holding fruit offerings, with oil lamps and a kalasha nearby. Columns are painted in red, yellow and blue, banana stalks and yellow cloths hang from the ceiling, and many devotees in white, pink, yellow and blue clothing watch the puja.2012-04-05April 05 20122012-04-05April 05 20122012-04-05April 05 20122012-04-05April 05 20122012-04-05April 05 20122012-04-05A temple interior during a ritual, with a large crowd seated on the floor in front of a decorated shrine. The shrine holds a golden deity murti draped with orange and red garlands, with a small deity adorned with flower garlands beside it and a kalasha-like arrangement of flowers and lamps at the front. A priest in white dhoti stands on the platform near the deity, and another shirtless priest in a yellow cloth sits in the foreground. Devotees include women in saffron, orange and red saris, men in white dhotis and an older man in a yellow shawl. A rainbow-striped banner hangs from a stone pillar at left and a banana plant stands nearby. A man in the center foreground sits with hands folded in namaste. Carved stone columns frame the hall, and a small plate of offerings sits at right.2012-04-05A crowded temple hall at night during a ritual, with devotees seated on the stone floor and many standing around them. In the centre a man in a white shirt and black trousers stands facing a priest in white dhoti with an orange-bordered shawl. Behind them a shirtless man in a dhoti sits near a small blue stool holding offerings, and bananas leaves and a rainbow-striped cloth hang from the pillars. On the right a deity murti is decorated with garlands of red and yellow flowers. Several women wear saffron and orange saris, and a bare-headed man in orange clothing sits at left. Brass plates and bowls of grains and flowers are laid out on the floor.2012-04-05