Skip to content
Nithyanandapedia
Photograph of a large group of women seated on the floor in a covered pavilion during a vilakku pooja, lighting oil lamps. Many wear white saris and some have blue or patterned blouses, with beaded necklaces and tulsi-style beads. Each woman holds or sits beside a brass oil lamp and a plate of flowers and offerings on a mat, with flames flickering in the smoky dim light. Decorative orange and blue cloth banners hang from the pavilion roof, and a few men in white stand at the back. No clearly identifiable a person is visible in the scene.

More like this

Open the gallery
December 31 20062006-12-31December 31 20062006-12-31A large open-sided pavilion at night filled with seated women in white and cream sarees, many with coloured borders in orange, red and yellow. Rows of brass oil lamps (vilakku) are lit on banana-leaf plates with flowers and offerings on the floor, in a vilakku pooja. Several women press their palms together in prayer, and a girl in white with a rudraksha mala sits at right. Tall painted pillars with dove motifs and orange hanging bunting frame the hall, and a faint smoky haze hangs in the air. No identifiable a person figure is visible.2006-12-31December 31 20062006-12-31December 31 20062006-12-31Night photograph of a large crowd of devotees seated on the floor under a tin-roofed pavilion during a vilakku pooja. Rows of brass oil lamps with lit wicks line the foreground, and many devotees kneel with palms pressed together in prayer. Most wear white or light clothing, while several women wear saffron, yellow, green and purple saris. Tall decorated pillars with painted floral motifs and dove emblems stand in the hall, with orange and red bunting strung between them. A dim haze of smoke hangs over the scene.2006-12-31A long night vilakku pooja in a decorated pandal lit by overhead lamps. Rows of women and men in white and cream clothing sit cross-legged on mats along both sides of a central aisle. Each seated devotee has a brass oil lamp, lit wicks, and a plate with flowers, fruit and offerings. Colourful floor rangoli kolams in pink, orange, blue and green decorate the central aisle. Standing devotees line the back, and a woman in an orange sari sits in the foreground. Hanging banners in red and white frame the tent.2006-12-31A large pandal hall at an evening vilakku pooja. Rows of women in white saris and white clothes with orange or coloured borders sit on the floor, each with a brass oil lamp lit on a leaf or plate with flowers and offerings in front of them. Floor kolam designs in pink, blue and green decorate the foreground. Behind them, a crowd of seated devotees, many in white, fills the hall under a tent roof hung with striped orange, blue and pink pillar covers and small flags. At the far end stands a decorated deity shrine with a floral arch. A few men in white dhotis sit among the crowd.2006-12-31December 31 20062006-12-31Dusk photograph of a large crowd of women seated in rows on the ground under a covered pavilion for a vilakku pooja. Most wear white or cream saris and some wear red, orange and teal garments. Each seated woman has a brass multi-wick oil lamp lit in front of her, along with brass plates of flowers, fruit and offerings on mats. Several women have their hands joined in prayer. Orange and white draped cloth hangs from the pillars above, and figures are visible at the back. No identifiable a person figure is visible in this image.2006-12-31Women in cream and gold-bordered saris sit in a long row on a polished white floor during a lamp ritual, each before a brass oil lamp (vilakku) lit with flames, with banana leaf trays of flowers, fruit and incense sticks. A small boy in a checked shirt sits among them, and a woman in a red blouse beside him holds a lamp. A woman in the foreground wears a jasmine garland and tends a lamp. Behind them a robed priest in orange sits near a shrine, and drummers with drums sit at the right edge. Thick incense smoke rises through the hall.2014-06-29 +1 copiesA long row of women sit cross-legged on a polished floor during a 108 Vilakku Puja, each tending a brass oil lamp (vilakku) on a banana leaf set with flowers, fruit and red kumkum. Foreground women wear white saris with gold borders and rudraksha or bead necklaces; one wears an orange-bordered sari. In the background, a figure in saffron/orange robes stands near the far wall, and another person in white stands beside a doorway. Incense sticks smoulder among the offerings. The hall has cream walls, brown wooden doors and a small framed picture on the wall, and the scene shows a row of ritual lamps extending into the distance.2014-06-29