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A large plume of white smoke rises from a square fire pit lined with stones on a green-and-gold cloth-covered platform inside a dimly lit hall. A seated figure in orange robes with a tall orange head covering kneels beside the pit, and a silver bowl and brass lamps sit near the base. Behind them, several people in orange and white clothing sit on striped mats facing the fire, and a robed figure in orange stands near the back. A flat-screen monitor is visible at left, and a silver vessel stands at lower left. This is a photograph of a smoke-purification ritual using burning cowdung, with the kneeling figure tending the fire.

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A photograph of a ritual in progress amid thick white smoke. In the foreground, a man with long dark hair and a bright orange headband, wearing orange clothing and a dark cord, kneels beside a yellow-draped wooden platform, tending burning cowdung cakes with his hands. Silver oil lamps with flames stand on the platform, with a silver vessel and a plate of cowdung cakes to the left, and a dark mound of burnt ash on the right. Behind, a seated group of people in orange and white robes watches the ceremony. A second person in orange stands in the background amid the haze. The smoke is part of a Siddha purification process for Aushada, prepared with cowdung fire and bhasma.2017-08-31A photograph of a ritual at a fire-and-smoke purification rite. Dense white smoke rises from a stack of flat cowdung cakes arranged on the ground at the centre-right. A man in orange clothing with an orange head wrap and white forehead markings leans over the stack, holding a metal vessel with one hand. Around him, orange-clad priests and devotees sit on the floor, some in orange head wraps and rudraksha malas; a woman in an orange sari stands behind a video camera on a tripod at the left. Brass plates with flowers, lamps and offerings sit on a cloth in front. Behind them, people in white kurtas sit on coloured mats. The scene reads as a Siddha-style pudamgaatal smoke purification with cowdung fuel.2017-08-31A photograph of a ritual at a Siddha-style preparation, with a large cloud of white smoke rising from a heap of dried cowdung cakes stacked on a brass tray in the foreground. Several shaved-headed young men in saffron-orange dhotis and orange turbans sit around the tray; the nearest wears beaded white and silver necklaces, and another, with white ash marks on his forehead, sits to the left. One seated man in orange pours or tends metal bowls and steel vessels. Behind them, seated devotees in orange and red garments and a cameraman with a tripod-mounted camera watch the proceedings on a patterned mat. Brass plates, a burning fire pit at right, and flower petals on the tray complete the scene.2017-08-31August 31 20172017-08-31Night ritual on a striped cloth floor in a temple hall. A bare-chested man in a dark red cloth kneels with his back to the camera, bending over a wooden platform from which thick white smoke billows upward. Beside him, a man in orange with a wrapped orange turban and long matted hair sits cross-legged near brass plates and bowls. Rows of small red-and-black oil lamps line the left foreground. Further right, a man in orange and white headwear sits behind a large engraved silver pot. Several other seated men in orange and saffron clothing and rudraksha malas watch the smoke ritual.2017-08-31A photograph of a ritual scene with a large plume of white smoke rising from a gold-framed platform where round cow-dung cakes are stacked and burning. Several young men in saffron-orange turbans and robes, wearing beaded necklaces and mala strands, sit at the left, one tending the fire with a metal plate. Oil lamps stand at the lower left and right. On the right, a seated figure in maroon-red robes, with bead ornaments and a crown-like headpiece, rests his hand on his chin beside a silver chair and a silver tray. Background devotees are seated in the dim hall.2017-08-31Photograph of a night ritual in a pavilion, with thick white smoke rising from a fire pit of cowdung cakes in the left foreground. A bare-chested priest at left sits with palms pressed together toward the smoke. A seated figure at right wears an ornate silver crown, rudraksha beads, bangles and a saffron-orange wrap, with hands at the chin and a long dark braid. He sits on a silver chair beside a silver tray holding a lamp and offerings. Other seated devotees in orange garments and a few onlookers sit in the background, with orange cushions and a small oil lamp on the floor.2017-08-31January 13 20152015-01-13A smoky night homa at a temple campus. A square fire pit lined with white marble glows orange in the centre. Several people in white dhotis and shawls sit around it, one holding a brass plate of offerings. In the foreground, a figure in a long saffron-orange robe stands near the fire, and another saffron-robed attendant stands further back. Brass vessels, a kalasha-like pot, small lamps and flower offerings sit on the floor. Hazy smoke fills the upper scene.2010-11-05August 31 20172017-08-31Photograph of a fire ritual (homa/yagna) inside a hall lit by hanging tube lights, with smoke rising across the frame. A central figure with long dark hair wears an orange-saffron shawl over a garland-draped body and holds a flower garland, seated behind a low altar. Flanking him, other people in white clothing and orange shawls attend the offering; one person in orange sits to the right. Low wooden platforms are covered in orange marigold garlands and pink flowers, with a green palm-leaf stalk, a silver pot, a silver vessel and fruit-filled baskets. Floral rangoli-style garlands lie on woven mats in the foreground, and devotees sit in the background.2006-07-17Night homa at a temple ritual site, with white smoke rising from a square fire pit in the foreground. A standing man with long dark hair wears a leopard-print jacket over an orange garment and holds a silver tray with offerings. Seated beside the fire pit, a shaved-headed priest in orange robes performs the ritual with raised hands, and other priests in white dhotis attend nearby. Brass pots, cups and bowls, red kumkum and a flower arrangement sit on the platform. Devotees in white sit with folded hands in the background, and oil lamps hang from the dark ceiling. The swami identity is uncertain from appearance alone, so the standing man is described by role only.2010-11-05