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Outdoor ritual under palm trees with a fire pit (homa kund) lined with wooden planks on the left, surrounded by brass vessels, kalashas and small silver bowls containing offerings. A young priest in white dhoti and shawl with a saffron-marked forehead and bare upper body sits on a green banana-leaf mat, holding a ritual implement and a garland of yellow flowers. Another shirtless priest in white sits to the right beside a bunch of bananas, with a framed portrait on an orange sofa-throne behind him. Thirty or more seated devotees in orange and saffron robes fill the rows behind, with a cameraman filming on a tripod. A red-and-orange pillared structure stands in the background.

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October 02 20142014-10-02Outdoor homa or abhishekam ritual under an open thatched shelter with palm trees behind. A seated figure in white with a yellow head wrap and a gold-bordered dhoti faces the fire pit, pouring offerings into a stone yagna kund with a small flame. Two young boys in saffron-orange robes with white forehead markings sit nearby, one preparing items and one holding a bowl of rice. Another saffron-clad boy with a rudraksha mala sits in front of a flower-decorated deity murti garlanded in marigolds and multicolored flowers. On the right, a figure in an orange and gold robe sits on a red and gold throne, with a mala and a gold-bordered shawl, watching the ritual. Fruits, marigold flowers, kumkum and a silver lamp sit on an orange cloth in the foreground, with microphones on stands.2013-09-09October 03 20142014-10-03An outdoor homa fire ritual in an ashram courtyard. A square yellow-painted fire pit lined with brick holds smoldering embers. Four men in white dhoti and shawls, with rudraksha malas and sacred ash markings on their arms and foreheads, sit in front. The man at right, wearing red-framed glasses, pours offerings from a steel vessel onto a banana leaf of fruits, pots and small bowls. Behind them, rows of devotees in orange and saffron robes with rudraksha malas sit on mats, many with a red-and-white garland. Brass lamps, a bell and a coconut sit at the edges. A tripod camera and a bronze statue stand in the background.2014-10-02An outdoor homa in a sunken square yellow-ochre fire pit lined with brick, with a small fire burning inside. Several priests in white dhotis and shawls sit around it; the foreground priest on the right wears a rudraksha mala and red tilak and places red flowers or fruit onto a tray of brass vessels and bananas. Behind them, a large group of devotees in saffron and orange robes sits on mats and cloth in a courtyard, with a stone Nandi statue on a red pedestal in the background. Brass lamps and a kalasha-style vessel sit at the edges, with banana leaves and fruit as offerings. This is a fire ritual being performed, and a person candidate is not clearly identifiable from appearance.2014-10-02Outdoor ritual gathering on a striped cloth mat in a temple courtyard. A priest in white dhoti with bare chest, rudraksha mala and a sandalwood tilak sits at centre with hands extended over brass vessels and a small brass tray. Beside him a younger man in saffron robe and rudraksha mala performs the ritual with brass bowls and a plate. Around them thirty or more seated devotees in saffron and orange garments and white clothes sit in rows, several children among them. Behind them stands a red painted shrine with a dark deity murti garlanded in yellow flowers, surrounded by palms and greenery.2016-08-18 +2 copiesOutdoor temple ritual under a open-sided pavilion with palm and banana leaves. A shaved-headed man in orange-saffron robes and a beaded necklace stands with palms pressed together at a square black fire pit (homa kund) edged with white and marsh flower garlands. Behind him, devotees in white clothes sit on the ground with hands folded, including a woman in yellow and a woman with long grey hair. Brass kalasha pots topped with orange-yellow mounds stand on a white-draped table to the right, and metal vessels and offerings sit near the fire pit. Terracotta-coloured ashram buildings and decorative stone figures appear in the background.2011-07-15Photograph of a homa at an outdoor temple courtyard. A square fire pit with a flaming wooden fire sits on a yellow-ochre platform decorated with yellow marigold garlands and red flower petals. A bearded priest in orange dhoti and a red-and-gold shawl, wearing a red beaded mala and gold necklace, sits on the right holding a ladle and offering over a silver plate; a bare-chested assistant in white dhoti kneels beside him. In the foreground a figure with a cowrie-shell necklace holds a brass plate of offerings. Behind, a seated assembly of devotees in white, orange and red clothes sits on colourful striped mats, with a red shrine and a black stone deity murti with garland in the background. Trays of fruit, brass bowls and banana leaves rest on the right.2016-02-16 +1 copiesOutdoor ritual under a corrugated metal canopy with palm trees behind. A decorated Ganesha murti on the left wears a garland of marigolds and green leaves, with a kalasha-like offering and a platter of yellow flowers and fruit before it. Several men in saffron and orange robes sit on an orange cloth; one bare-chested ritual participant in white dhoti wears a yellow headcloth and rudraksha malas, seated before a fire pit with a homa in progress. Two microphones stand in front of the group. A man in orange robes sits on a red velvet throne at right, with an ornate gold-trimmed chair and a bowl of fruit, lamps and marigolds on the ground nearby. The scene reads as a homa or puja.2013-09-09December 16 20102010-12-16Outdoor ritual homa beside a fire pit with flames rising from a stepped wooden platform. A young man in white dhoti and shawl with a red turban sits cross-legged on an orange mat, tending the fire with brass vessels, a bell and flower-filled dishes nearby. A man on an orange-cushioned seat at right, wearing orange robes, rudraksha-style neck beads and a flower garland, sits with bare feet forward. Dozens of devotees in orange and red robes sit in rows under palm trees, with a red temple pillar and a camera operator behind.2014-10-03September 09 20162016-09-09