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A photo of a homa fire ritual inside a pillared hall. A fire burns on a brick-built fire pit at centre, with a shirtless man in white sitting behind it beside a metal vessel and a sprinkled stripe of offerings. To the left, a woman in an orange sari sits on the floor among bowls and papers, and a man in a green cloth and yellow-bordered dhoti kneels beside her. At right, a man in a yellow shawl tends the fire. Behind them, a seated assembly of men in white and saffron-orange robes watches. In the foreground, coconuts wrapped in flower garlands of yellow marigolds, red and white blooms sit on the floor, with plastic water bottles and a blue chair nearby. The vestry-style hall has concrete pillars and a checkered floor.

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September 24 20122012-09-24September 24 20122012-09-24A homa fire burns in a brick fire pit at the centre of the frame, with bright flames rising from the square altar. Around it, priests sit on the floor in white dhotis and orange cloths. A young priest in front, bare-chested with a tilak on his forehead and an orange shawl over his shoulder, tends the fire. Behind him, other priests with rudraksha malas sit before trays of marigold and yellow flower garlands and brass vessels. Pale stone-block walls and a corrugated roof frame the scene, and a standing woman in a white sari with orange border stands in the background. Offering sticks and a basket lie in the foreground.2016-10-16Photograph of a fire ritual, homa or yagna, inside a stone-walled hall with rough brick and stone blocks. Several priests sit on the floor around brick-lined fire pits where flames rise, with bowls of offerings, leafy green stems, marigold-like flowers, a basket of sticks and brass vessels nearby. The priest in the centre wears an orange-saffron cloth draped over his body with a tilak on his forehead. A bare-chested priest on the right wears a yellow head cloth and white dhoti. Attendants in white and orange garments tend the fires and handle offerings in the background.2016-10-16Outdoor-style homa ritual at a brick fire pit under a thatched open hall with a banana-leaf canopy. A man in a black shirt and white dhoti, seated at left, holds a lit oil lamp toward the blazing fire pit. A bare-chested priest in white dhoti with a red flower garland stands at right, facing the fire beside a woven basket of flowers and offerings. Behind them, a group of devotees in saffron and orange robes, white dhotis and sarees stands watching, including a bare-chested man with a yellow cloth over his shoulder. Smoke rises from the fire, and marigold petals and flowers lie on the ground in front.2012-09-24A homa fire ritual inside a brick-walled hall. A shaven-headed man in an orange-saffron cloth draped over his shoulders sits at a square brick fire pit where large flames rise, with marigold garlands and offerings arranged around it. A bare-chested priest in white dhoti with a yellow head band sits on the right beside a second fire pit, and other white-clad men attend in the background. A man in an orange head wrap on the left holds a brass bowl near the fire. Copper pots, banana-leaf plates and bundles of sticks lie on the floor.2016-10-16A photograph of a homa fire ritual in an open courtyard with brick walls. At the centre, a square brick fire pit blazes with flames. Several men in white dhotis, some bare-chested, sit cross-legged on a patterned mat around the fire. A man in the centre wears a white shawl and a rudraksha mala. Behind, a man in a yellow head cloth and white dhoti sits beside another fire. Garlands of yellow and orange flowers, brass bowls, a basket of wooden sticks, and a dish of grains lie on the mat. Other men stand in the background near a wooden door.2016-10-16A homa fire burns in a brick fire pit at the centre of a stone-walled hall, surrounded by marigold garlands and brass vessels. A bare-chested man with a white dhoti and orange shawl, with a tilak on his forehead, sits cross-legged before the fire. Around him, priests in white dhotis and orange clothing tend the ritual, one holding a brass pot and another feeding offerings into the flames. A second fire burns in the background, and a woven basket of sticks and offering materials sits at right. Copyright overlay text appears on the image.2016-10-16January 06 20182018-01-06A night-time homa fire ceremony in an open courtyard. A large wooden fire pit with a tiered, white-patterned base is ablaze, decorated with marigold flowers. A shirtless priest stands behind it, wearing a white dhoti and a long beaded necklace. Seated on a silver-edged platform to the right is a woman in a pink head wrap, a white sari with orange border and a long beaded garland, offering into the fire. Beside her a man in an orange shawl and orange-trimmed garland sits near brass vessels and offering bowls. Rows of seated devotees in white and saffron clothing fill a colourful striped mat behind them, and a dark deity murti stands in the background. Brass lamps and bowls rest on the foreground ground.2016-02-22September 05 20172017-09-05 +1 copiesNovember 23 20162016-11-23