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Close-up photograph of a ritual setting on a striped woven cloth in red, green and orange. A worn stone mortar-like vessel holds a dark bed of ash and a yellow paste with a lit wick flame burning in it, beside a dark wooden pestle. Two polished silver oil lamps with yellow-lit wicks stand at right, and a small engraved silver bowl sits at lower left. No people are visible, and the scene shows lamps and ritual objects only.

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Close view of a worn stone bowl on a striped woven cloth holding a burning mound of dark ash, dried material and yellow residue, with flames rising from it. A dark metal ladle or stylus rests across the bowl. At left, the partially visible hand of a person wearing a beaded rudraksha-type bracelet and a gold ring reaches toward it. Behind are a dark stone block and brass oil lamps with yellow oil on tall silver stands. No full face or identifiable person is visible.2017-10-08Close-up photograph of a stone mortar with a wooden pestle on a striped red, green and blue woven cloth. The mortar holds a dark mixture with a melted yellow substance and burning flames. Silver oil lamps with lit wicks stand beside it, and a small silver bowl sits in the foreground. No people are visible; the scene looks like a ritual preparation or lamp offering setup.2017-10-08A close photograph of a ritual fire in a carved stone bowl, with flames rising as a hand holding a wooden ladle, wearing a gold ring and a beaded rudraksha-style bracelet and an orange-red garment, tends the fire. Lit brass oil lamps stand nearby, one beside a gold-toned brass deity figure, and covered silver vessels sit on a colourful striped cloth. Only the forearm and hand of one person are visible, so the individual cannot be identified.2017-10-08September 14 20172017-09-14 +1 copiesClose-up photograph of a weathered stone mortar with a dark wooden pestle resting inside. The dark paste in the mortar is speckled with orange and red powder, and yellow powder dusts the rim. Behind it, a brass ritual vessel or lamp stand and a striped cloth in red, green, purple and orange are blurred. No people are visible.2017-10-08Close view of an aushadha preparation table draped with a striped pink, purple and blue cloth. A stone mortar holds a dark grey stone and a cream-coloured pestle, with a small brass pot and a lid nearby. Sprigs of green and dried herbs sit on a metal tray, and a small flame burns in a clay bowl of powder. Yellow turmeric powder sits in a wooden box at the back, with blurred figures in red and green clothing at the top edge. No people are clearly in focus.2017-09-14A close photograph of a ritual in progress: a priest in a red-orange garment and rudraksha mala holds a bundle of thin white wicks or sticks that is burning, sending up flame and smoke over a dark stone mortar containing a yellow-orange paste with red powder. Silver kalasha-style vessels with ornate repousse designs stand on a silver tray behind, and the ground is covered with a gold and dark patterned cloth. The scene suggests an aushadha or medicinal-preparation offering. Only the priest's hand and arm and the lower body are visible, and no face is shown.2018-03-03Close photo of a ritual fire being lit in a dark stone mortar-like vessel on a patterned cloth. A person in an orange-red garment with rudraksha beads on the wrist and neck feeds burning grass or straw into the flames with a dark wooden pestle-like tool. Silver ornate vessels and a silver stand stand to the right. Flames, smoke and charred material rise from the vessel. Hands and forearms are visible; the face is not shown.2018-03-03Close view of a stone mortar filled with a dark, glossy paste, with a dark wooden pestle being worked into it by a hand wearing a gold ring at top. A lit oil lamp with a silver base sits at right, and a striped woven textile in red, yellow, green and blue lies beneath the bowl. Edges of the mortar are dusted with yellow powder. No faces are visible.2017-10-08Close view of a ritual fire burning in a square stone vessel on a cloth-covered surface. Tall orange flames rise from a bed of dry straw and grass packed in the stone pot, with a long iron rod resting across its rim. Behind it stand ornate silver or copper vessels with repoussé floral and figural engraving, and a red fabric draped in the background suggests a ceremonial setting. No people are visible. The scene matches a homa or yagna fire offering.2018-03-03March 03 20182018-03-03Close-up photograph of a worn stone yoni-shaped basin holding dark liquid, with a dark wooden or stone pestle-like rod resting in it, a yellow turmeric or kumkum-dusted rim, and silver candlesticks standing at right on a colourful striped woven cloth. No people are visible. The setting suggests a temple abhishekam altar with a deity murti area behind; a blurred bright metal object appears in the foreground.2017-10-08