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A dense plume of white smoke rises from a fire pit in an open pavilion during a homa. On the left, a priest in red dhoti and orange-red shawl holds a wooden ladle and a brass plate of offerings, wearing a saffron cap. Beside him, a bare-chested man in a white dhoti holds a plate. On the right, an older bare-chested man with long grey hair and beard wears a rudraksha mala and gold necklace, hands folded. Another priest in a yellow-gold dhoti holds a silver plate, and a brass kalasha with a flame sits near the fire. Yellow and green garlands hang behind them.

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January 13 20152015-01-13A photograph of a homa fire pit, a rectangular stone-lined vedi with a smoking fire inside, dense smoke rising across the frame. A priest in a red dhoti and red shawl with gold-bordered edges, wearing a yellow-and-gold turban and a rudraksha mala, stands bare-chested at the right, holding a long bamboo rod over the pit. Behind him, several men in saffron-orange robes and white garments stand with hands folded or raised in devotion. Marigold and mixed flower garlands line the edge of the pit, with a small oil lamp at the left and a silver plate of petals and offerings in the foreground.2015-01-13A dense cloud of smoke or incense fills a large hall, obscuring a central deity murti or ritual structure. In the foreground at lower left, several men in ritual dress stand with brass plates and a long wooden pole, some wearing red and white cloth and yellow garlands. At lower right, a man in an orange garment and a figure draped in a red-orange shawl sit close to the smoke. Behind them, devotees and attendants fill the hall under bright light.2015-01-13January 13 20152015-01-13Smoky ritual scene under a large tent, with a dense crowd of priests and attendees. In the foreground a bare-chested young man with a striped turban and a sacred thread stands beside a figure bending over a square fire pit or homa trench. A man in white dhoti and an orange sash holds a brass plate with a flame. Men in orange, red and yellow dhotis and turbans crowd around, and marigold garlands line the pit edge. Strong smoke fills the air. No clearly identifiable a person figure is visible.2015-01-13January 13 20152015-01-13January 13 20152015-01-13A smoky homa fire pit, a square brown-walled altar edged with blue and white and strewn with yellow marigold petals, dominates the foreground with a small flame visible at its base. A brass ladle is held at right by a man in a yellow-and-orange headwrap and yellow marigold garland. Around the pit, about a dozen men stand in ritual dress: several bare-chested men in pink and yellow dhotis wear gold-toned necklaces, a man in saffron-orange robes holds a brass plate, and an elder with long white hair and a rudraksha mala raises a hand in blessing. Other men in orange robes and a man in a yellow cloth stand nearby under a white canopy, with thick smoke rising through the scene.2015-01-13January 13 20152015-01-13January 13 20152015-01-13January 13 20152015-01-13 +1 copiesA photograph of a large square fire pit with a smoking, glowing homa in the foreground, surrounded by a crowd of devotees and priests at a ritual. Several men in orange and saffron robes stand around the fire, some holding metal trays and plates of offerings, and one holds a gold ceremonial ladle. Men in pink and yellow dhotis and yellow-and-orange turbans stand bare-chested with hands raised or folded in prayer. A bearded elder in orange with rudraksha malas raises his hands. Marigold garlands line the edge of the pit. The tent setting is bright and hazy with smoke.2015-01-13