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A covered outdoor courtyard during a Pongal celebration. A central figure in an orange-brown robe and a long gold-beaded necklace with a fresh flower garland stands between two lines of devotees in red and orange saffron robes. Two men in white dhotis with gold borders stand at the left and right, one holding a tray of offerings. Tall sugarcane stalks frame the scene, and a clay pot with a flame sits at lower left. Colourful rangoli designs cover the floor, and a banner with a world map hangs at the back. Several devotees stand in the background.

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January 14 20172017-01-14January 14 20172017-01-14Outdoor festival ritual under a canopy. A bearded man in a rust-brown dhoti and shawl, with a pink and white flower garland, a gold pendant and a rudraksha mala, holds a glass jar of grain or milk toward a fire. Two sugarcane stalks stand upright in the foreground. Men and women in orange and saffron robes, one man in a white dhoti with gold borders, and a drummer in white stand around the ritual area, which has a floor kolam design and a small flame with metal bowls. Roughly a dozen people are visible.2017-01-14A photograph of a Pongal harvest celebration under a corrugated metal shelter with sugarcane stalks standing in the foreground. A central man with a large dark hair bun, wearing a rudraksha mala with a red and yellow flower garland, a red-brown dhoti and shawl, and a red tilak, is walking barefoot while holding a silver lamp or vessel with both hands. Two attendants in orange-saffron robes walk beside him, one carrying a silver tray and the other a red bag. Earthen pots with yellow and red markings and yellow bricks sit on a patterned floor design in the front. Behind them, more robed people in saffron stand near a gilded throne with a tiger-skin cushion, and a banner shows a world map.2016-01-15A Pongal ritual under an open-sided roofed pavilion. A bare-chested man in a white dhoti with a gold-bordered cloth and gold necklaces stands at right, a bearded priest in a rust-brown cloth wears a white and pink floral garland and gold chains and pours milk from a white vessel into a yellow clay pot set over a small fire. Other white-clad men stand around sugarcane stalks tied at the top with leaves, and women in red and orange saris stand behind. Nearby are a yellow clay pot on a brick stove, brass bowls, and kolam floor designs in red and green. The scene matches a milk-boiling (pongal) rite beside sugarcane poles.2017-01-14January 14 20172017-01-14Outdoor Pongal celebration under a corrugated roof at an ashram. In the foreground a yellow clay pot with a green-and-white band sits on a stack of red bricks beside a steel bowl, with sugarcane stalks leaning around it. A bearded man in a brown dhoti and shawl, wearing a white and pink flower garland and gold necklaces, stands with hands at his chest near the pot. Beside him a man in orange robes and a second man bare-chested with gold chains and a long braid are present. Several people in orange and red robes stand in the background among colourful kolam floor designs and a black Shiva-like statue on a red pedestal at left. Several people are visible, including partially visible figures at the right edge.2017-01-14A photograph of an outdoor temple ritual under a corrugated roof. A central figure with a tall, swept-back dark hairstyle wears a rust-red garment and a red floral garland with a gold-tipped rudraksha mala, holding a small lamp with a visible flame near a tall sugarcane stalk. Several sugarcane stalks stand upright around him, and clay pots sit on the ground. Behind him, men in orange and maroon dhotis and shawls stand in the ritual space, with an ornate gold-trimmed seat and parasols visible in the background. Colourful floor rangoli and mats cover the ground. The scene suggests a Pongal harvest ritual with sugarcane and lamps.2016-01-15January 15 20162016-01-15January 15 20162016-01-15Outdoor Pongal ritual on a paved courtyard under a corrugated roof, with sugarcane stalks standing around a clay pot boiling over a brick hearth with a bright flame. A bare-chested man in a maroon-brown cloth and marigold garland kneels at the pot, while several young men in saffron-orange dhotis and rudraksha-style necklaces stand behind holding brass plates of offerings. Brass bowls of cooked rice, sugar and grains sit in the foreground, and kolam rangoli designs decorate the floor. A world map poster hangs on the back wall.2017-01-14January 15 20162016-01-15