Skip to content
Nithyanandapedia
Outdoor Pongal celebration at an ashram under a thatched palm-leaf shelter strung with mango leaves. A standing figure in a long saffron-orange robe with a pink waistband faces away from the camera toward a group of devotees in white dhotis and white sarees, many wearing orange shawls. A woman in a white saree with an orange shawl kneels at a clay pot on a small hearth, while another woman in white holds a red-and-orange cloth bundle. Brass lamps and a kalasha-like vessel sit on a green leaf strip on the ground, which has a chalk kolam with the word a person and decorative flower and leaf designs in purple, green, orange and blue. Dusk light. Pongal cooking ritual setting; no visible deity murti.

More like this

Open the gallery
Outdoor Pongal celebration in an open courtyard under a thatched shelter. In the foreground a woman in an orange saree stirs a pot on a brick hearth with a long ladle while flames and dry straw burn beneath two clay pots. Beside her two women in white sarees with orange shawls watch. Behind them a group of devotees in white dhotis and orange shawls stand around a white-draped chair and a framed portrait garlanded with yellow flowers, with a rangoli kolam on the ground. Other people in white and orange are visible in the background, and a palm-thatched roof covers the scene.2008-01-16January 14 20182018-01-14Outdoor Pongal celebration under a corrugated metal roof at an ashram. Two bare-chested men in orange dhotis sit cross-legged on red mats at the front, one with a white headband and sacred ash markings, performing rituals beside a clay pot over a small fire. Sugarcane stalks are tied at a pole, and a row of yellow and white marigold garlands surrounds a kolam design on the ground. Behind them, a long line of women in orange saris and mostly orange sarees stands in rows, with other attendees in mixed colours. A man in orange stands to the right beside a drum, and a camera on a tripod is set up near the centre. Brass vessels and pots of offerings are arranged on the floor.2018-01-14A courtyard outdoors in front of a thatched-roof hut with whitewashed walls. In the foreground a man stands barefoot in a loose saffron-orange robe over a red top, with long hair swept back, looking to the side. Behind him, a group of women in white saris and white clothes, some with orange shawls, stand in a loose line near the hut. A colourful floral kolam of pink, green, blue, yellow and orange flowers is drawn on the sandy ground between slender tree trunks, with leafy branches strung overhead. Plastic chairs and a red bucket sit at the edges.2008-01-16January 14 20182018-01-14January 15 20112011-01-15August 25 20172017-08-25Outdoor photograph of a Pongal ceremony at dusk in a dirt courtyard. A crowd of about thirty devotees in white ritual clothes with saffron-orange shawls stands in a loose group at left, several with hands joined. In the centre, a man in white bends low before a small mound of earth with yellow marigold petals and a kumkum mark, beside a clay pot fire with smoke rising. A woman in a white sari stands at left. At right, a woman in an orange sari sits on a white-draped seat on a patterned rug. Nearby stand black-and-white cows and a young tree tied to a bamboo stake. A colourful rangoli kolam with lotus-like patterns lies on the ground, and a thatched hut sits at the left edge.2008-01-16Outdoor ground-breaking puja on bare red earth among leafless trees and palms. A small young sapling stands in the centre, encircled by a ring of flower petals and garlands. In front, a figure in orange robes and a red-brown cloth is seen from behind, holding a tray or offering. Beside a freshly planted sapling, a man in an orange robe and orange turban wears a white flower garland and holds his hands in anjali, with a rudraksha mala visible; a shaved-headed attendant in white stands nearby. Several people in white dhotis and white sarees, some with yellow shawls, stand with folded hands, and a patterned carpet, brass lamps and a white cloth with flowers lie on the ground at left. The scene reads as a land puja with a sapling offering.2010-02-15A photograph of a Pongal celebration in an open-sided pavilion with a dirt floor. A standing man in a reddish-brown dhoti and a red-and-orange turban, with a flower garland and a shawl, stands with palms joined in front of a decorated pot. Women and girls in orange and red saris and salwar kurtas stand nearby, several holding hands together in prayer. Clay pots garlanded with yellow flowers stand on a kolam drawn in white powder, with sugarcane stalks, bananas, plantains and banana-leaf plates of food laid on striped cloths. A brass lamp and a large display of marigolds and offerings are set at the right, and an orange ceremonial banner hangs at the right edge.2018-01-14Outdoor ritual photograph on bare earth with a fire pit in the foreground holding a kalasha-like pot and sugarcane stalks tied in a tripod frame. Two figures in orange saffron garments stand on a pink and blue cloth mat before a brass plate and offerings, one holding a raised object. Behind them a large group of devotees in orange and white clothing, some with hands in anjali, stand beneath a row of colourful decorated umbrellas, with a brick wall and a parked vehicle in the background. Several young girls in orange dress stand at right. Kolam-style white designs mark the ground and stone basins sit at left.2016-01-16Outdoor photo of a Pongal-style ritual on bare earth with white kolam rangoli designs drawn on the ground. A man in white dhoti and an orange shawl kneels at the centre, arranging a brass plate, brass lamps and a steel plate of cooked rice; banana leaves hold white rice mounds, bananas and flowers lie on the ground, and a small fire burns at left. Behind them a large crowd stands in white and orange clothing, including white-clad women, young women in white with rudraksha malas and girls in orange and teal. Bamboo, palm trees and a water tank are visible in the background.2006-01-15