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Night photograph of a fire-walking ritual pit. A long trench of glowing red embers and ash smoulders in the foreground, bordered by wooden poles and sticks laid across it. Behind it, a crowd of men in white dhotis and white shirts stands and watches around a raised white platform. On the platform is a lit lantern or oil lamp, a dark deity murti with garlands, and metal pots and vessels. Palm trees and a strip of blue and white bunting stretch across the dark background. The scene reads as a fire-walking ritual with devotees gathered around the altar, but no one is shown walking the coals and no prominent figure is singled out.

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Night photograph of a fire-walking ritual in an outdoor temple courtyard. A long pit of glowing red embers runs across the foreground, with smoke rising from it, bordered by wooden poles and rails. Many people dressed in white stand along the rails, some in white dhotis and shirts, one in a yellow-bordered sari. In the background a lit lamp stands on a raised platform near a tall pole, with a deity murti and white-draped structure beneath, under a string of pennant flags. A man in white with a blue bucket stands near the pit edge. No single person can be confidently identified as the a person from appearance alone.2006-12-30Night photo of a fire-walking pit at an outdoor temple ground. A long trench of glowing red embers and grey ash smokes in the foreground, bordered by packed earth and bamboo poles laid as barriers. Behind the barrier, a crowd of men in white dhotis and white shirts stands watching, some with lanyards, with women in saris visible at the right edge. A lit lamp or kalasha-like object is raised on a pole in the background under strings of bunting, with a figure in white near the pit's far end. No individual's face is clearly identifiable as a person; the scene shows a fire-walking ritual rather than a clearly identified presence.2006-12-30December 30 20062006-12-30December 30 20062006-12-30Night photograph of a fire-walking ritual pit: a long strip of glowing red embers and ash runs through a cleared sandy path, bordered by wooden stakes and bamboo poles held by people in white clothes. At the far end, a raised white platform bearing a decorated deity murti or palanquin sits under a bright light, with a tall pole and a palm tree behind it. A large crowd of mostly white-clad devotees stands along both sides, watching the procession and fire-walking activity. Some men in white kurtas and dhotis stand near the pit, and a bunting strip stretches across the background.2006-12-30December 30 20062006-12-30December 30 20062006-12-30Night photograph of a fire-walking ritual on dirt ground. A long trench of glowing white-grey embers runs down the centre, bordered by wooden rails. A man in white clothes and a white cap stands at the left edge of the trench, while another person in white walks or steps across the embers near the centre. Behind the rails, a large crowd of people in mostly white clothing, with some orange and saffron garments, watches closely. A lit illuminated palanquin or ratha with decorative lamps stands in the background, with a strung bunting line above and dark trees beyond.2006-12-30December 30 20062006-12-30Night photograph of a fire-walking ritual pit: a long trench of glowing charcoal and embers with smoke rising, lined on both sides by bamboo poles. Many people in white clothes crowd the edges, some dressed in white dhotis and shirts, with drummers at right playing large drums in light-coloured clothing. A lantern hangs above the pit near a palm tree. Dry straw covers the earth banks beside the pit.2006-12-30Night photograph of a fire-walking ritual at an outdoor ground lit only by dim light and smoke. A man in white clothing raises a long pole or rod above a bamboo-railed pit of glowing embers, while a crowd of devotees dressed in white shirts and white dhotis stand and sit around the enclosure. Several people wear rudraksha or bead necklaces. Strings of small flags hang between palm trees overhead, and a metal pot sits at the right edge of the frame.2006-12-30December 30 20062006-12-30