Skip to content
Nithyanandapedia
A large open hall with a corrugated metal roof and bright tube lights on bamboo posts shows a fire-offering ritual. Men in white dhotis and shirts stand and sit among rows of small brick fire pits set on a wet, muddy floor. In the foreground a man in white bends over a brick pit, tending a flame or offering on a pan-like vessel. Several people in white and a woman in a white sari stand nearby, and others crowd the background. Green and blue banners hang from the posts, some bearing portraits and Tamil text. No figure is identifiable as a person with confidence.

More like this

Open the gallery
A large open hall with a corrugated metal roof, lit by long fluorescent tubes hung from bamboo poles, where many people in white clothing gather around small brick-lined fire pits on a wet, muddy floor. Several men in white shirts and dhotis stoop near the pits, one bending low over a pit with a flat metal vessel, while women in white saris stand nearby. Banners with Tamil script hang on the walls, and banana or sugarcane stalks are tied to the posts. Water pools on the ground around the pits, reflecting the lights. No individual's appearance clearly matches the a person cues, so no candidate is identified.2006-07-18A photograph of a large open-sided yagna hall with a corrugated roof and rows of fluorescent tube lights hanging from beams. Wet, muddy ground runs down the centre, with white brick fire-pit platforms on either side. A woman in a white sari kneels at a platform, tending a small fire and pouring from a brass vessel, while nearby figures in white dhotis and shawls stand or sit. A tall pillar wrapped in banana leaves and a decorated cloth stands at the left edge. Banners and printed sheets hang from the roof, and one banner shows a bearded figure in a white turban. The man at right holds a boy in white and wears a white dhoti and shirt, and a tall plain-clothed devotee in a garland stands among the group.2006-07-18A photograph of a large hall with a corrugated roof, filled with many people performing a fire ritual (homa/yajna) at multiple square brick fire pits. Woman in white clothes with a rudraksha mala kneels at the nearest pit, tending a brass vessel beside offerings on a woven mat, including plates of flowers, fruit and white powder. Other participants in white and cream clothes, and women in saris, sit or stand at neighbouring pits and move through the crowd. Palm fronds and strings of leaves hang from wooden posts, and banners with portraits and text line the walls under white fluorescent tubes. Many people are visible, with some partly hidden at the edges.2006-07-18A photograph inside a large open-sided pandal with a corrugated roof, its floor wet and muddy with scattered straw. Decorated banana trunks with green leaves and a painted, flower-patterned pillar frame the scene. A white-draped table on the left holds flower-filled plates, fruit and offerings. In the centre, a man in a white dhoti and shawl kneels by a small brick fire pit or altar platform, tending the ritual vessels, while a woman in white stands nearby. Along the right, rows of people in white clothing and a few in saffron or yellow garments stand and sit in the hall, with banners hanging overhead. This appears to be a homa or yajna offering ceremony, with several small platforms set up for fire offerings.2006-07-18 +1 copiesA large open-sided pandal hall with a tin roof, hanging green leaf-strings and tube lights, where many devotees in white dhotis and white shirts, some in saffron and pink saris, move among small square white-plastered fire pits (homa kunds) on a wet floor. Several people in white bend over the pits and mats, tending offerings; plantain stalks, sugarcane pieces, a plate of offerings with flowers, and a red bowl sit on the ground. Banners behind show a framed portrait of a bearded saint in white and the word Dhyanapeetham, with a dove logo at upper left. A yajna or homa offering appears to be underway. Many people are visible in the scene.2006-07-18A photograph inside a large covered pavilion during a fire ritual, with a muddy wet floor and rows of fire pits lined with white brick. On the left, a man in white dhoti and shirt kneels at a pit tending the fire. Nearby, several men and women in white clothing stand in a crowd, some wearing rudraksha-style garlands and yellow rosettes on their chests. On the right, a bare-footed man in a white shirt and dhoti stands on a woven mat with another man beside him, while a bottle and plastic items lie on the ground. Plastic bottles, banners and hanging lights are visible overhead.2006-07-18Wet, muddy interior of a large open-sided pavilion during a multi-day fire ritual. Men in white dhotis and white shirts stand and kneel on mats, several wearing rudraksha-style beaded malas around their necks. A man in a white dhoti bends over a low raised platform of white-painted bricks on the left, tending a brass vessel. A boy in a white shirt and dark shorts stands with hands clasped on a mat. Scattered water bottles, a brass dish and wet ground fill the foreground, with banners and bamboo posts overhead and a crowd of devotees in white behind.2006-07-18A large open-sided pavilion with a tin roof, rows of tube lights hanging from wooden poles and a sandy floor holds a mass fire-offering ritual. Many people in white clothes sit cross-legged around square white-painted fire altars (homa kundas) with small flames burning. In the foreground, a man in white sits behind a white altar with a brass vessel and a plate of red flowers. A man in white at right serves items on a plate on a mat. Crowds of seated participants fill the background.2006-07-17July 17 20062006-07-17July 18 20062006-07-18A large open-sided pandal with a corrugated roof, strung with hanging green leaf and marigold-style garlands, and lit by long fluorescent tubes. Banana-like plant trunks stand beside the pillars. Several people in white dhotis and white shirts or saris move across a sandy floor, some carrying offering trays or plates. White tiered square platforms. A woman in a red and white printed sari stands at right, and a child in pink walks at left. Banners hang along the back wall. The scene suggests a multi-station fire offering ritual.2006-07-16A large open-sided pandal with a corrugated roof and bamboo posts hosts a homa event. Rows of devotees in white dhotis and white shirts sit on mats before small white-tiled fire pits (kundas) with flames and smoke rising. Banana leaves, kalasha-like offerings and brass vessels stand near the pits. Hanging banners with Tamil text and a portrait-style banner fill the upper area. A seated elderly man with white hair and glasses sits in the foreground in white clothing. Many people in white clothes sit in the background, and smoke drifts through the hall.2006-07-17