Skip to content
Nithyanandapedia
A group of young boys and adult men in maroon-red dhoti-style garments with gold-coloured borders stand in a hall, their bodies, faces and hair dusted white with powder. Many have their heads shaved. Some raise their arms and look upward while others stand with hands clasped near their chests. A taller man at the upper right wears a saffron-red robe and raises a bottle overhead. The floor is pale and the background shows a wooden door and a wall with railings, with small white flecks of powder drifting in the air.

More like this

Open the gallery
March 10 20132013-03-10Photograph of a crowded indoor hall during a celebration with many people covered in white powder. Several young boys in the foreground wear red-maroon sleeveless garments edged with gold trim, their faces and bare shoulders dusted white, some shouting or raising hands. Behind them, several older men in similar red garments and white-dusted bodies raise their arms, and one standing man on the right holds a ceremonial staff topped with a silver trident-like finial. Red curtains and a framed picture hang on the walls, and white powder hangs in the air. Visible people number around 20 to 25.2013-03-10March 10 20132013-03-10A photograph of a group of young boys and several adult men, most with white ash or powder covering their faces, heads and bare shoulders, standing close together in a hall with a plain beige wall and red curtains behind them. The boys in front wear red-maroon tunics or wraps with gold-edged borders, one holding a hand raised with ash on the palm. Several bald men in orange-saffron cloths stand in the background. Dark smudges around the eyes and red marks on foreheads give a ritual, otherworldly look. Specks of powder hang in the air.2013-03-10A photograph of a crowded indoor ritual where many people are covered in white ash or powder, creating a dusty, hazy atmosphere. In the foreground a young boy with white-powdered face and red tilak on his forehead wears a red sleeveless garment with gold trim. Behind him several men and boys in red and saffron robes with gold-edged sashes raise their arms and hands, some holding a kalasha-like vessel aloft at upper right. A child at lower right, also powdered, smiles. Several figures in the background wear white dhotis. The scene suggests a sacred ceremony with powder being thrown or applied during a festival atmosphere.2013-03-10A photograph of a crowded indoor hall during a ritual celebration, with many people covered in white powder or ash, some faces and bodies whitened. In the foreground, young boys and girls in red and gold-bordered garments with white-smeared faces look toward the camera, while behind them many men and boys raise their arms. A bald man in an orange-red robe at right holds up a silver trident, a trishula, high in one hand. Red curtains hang on the upper walls, and framed portraits hang near the top. A standing figure in grey-white clothing stands at right. White powder fills the air like falling particles. Visible people number above twenty.2013-03-10A dim hall filled with floating white powder. Several people with white-powdered faces and bodies wear red and saffron cloth with gold borders. A bald man in the centre, wrapped in a saffron-orange cloth, raises a silver trident high in his right hand. Around him, others lift their arms and face the centre, and a child in the foreground looks up at him. A framed portrait hangs on the back wall beside red curtains, and a grey-robed figure stands at the right edge. The scene looks like a Shivaratri observance.2013-03-10March 10 20132013-03-10March 10 20132013-03-10March 10 20132013-03-10A photo of a group of sannyasi-style devotees in ash-whitened bodies and faces, wearing saffron-orange robes, many with raised arms and some holding silver staffs or ceremonial rods. The central figure, bald with glasses, smiles with arms raised and holds a silver ceremonial staff. Others around him, similarly coated in white ash, raise hands and shout in ecstatic celebration in a plain hall with red curtains and framed pictures on the walls.2013-03-10March 10 20132013-03-10