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A photo of a person in a rust-red sari seated on the ground, hands placing flat, dried cowdung cakes onto a stone platform with a metal tray beneath them. Pale white ash or bhasma sits among the cakes, and a silver-legged table with a tray stands behind. White horizontal lines mark the arms and a red thread bracelet and gold bangles are worn. A strung rudraksha mala hangs at the neck, and green leaves and pink petals lie on the floor at the right. This shows the Aushada purification step, where cowdung is burned for smoke and bhasma is prepared. The person is visible only from the arms and torso downward.

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August 31 20172017-08-31 +1 copiesAugust 31 20172017-08-31 +1 copiesA photograph of a Siddha-style purification process: flat cow-dung cakes are stacked in a conical mound around a dark metal vessel containing glowing red embers and burning cowdung, with smoke rising above. Pink flowers and a yellow cloth lie on the ground at right, and a person in a rust-red garment sits partly visible at the upper left. No face or identifiable ritual figure is clearly shown, and no a person candidate is visible in this frame.2017-08-31Close photo of hands in rust-red robes crumbling dried cowdung cakes into a stainless steel bowl set on a granite pedestal. Two people are visible: one with a bare wrist and a grey beaded bracelet, the other with white ash stripes on the forearm, a red thread band and a gold bangle. Bhasma is being prepared as part of an Aushada purification process. Scattered flower petals and a green leaf lie on the floor at the lower left.2017-08-31A photograph of a Siddha purification process: a flat-bottomed metal vessel on a stone block holds glowing red embers beneath stacked dark cowdung cakes, with smoke rising. Behind it a wooden platform is dotted with red flower petals and a silver tray sits at the right edge. Blurred figures in rust-orange clothing are at the top left and top right, with hands visible at the top right; no faces are clearly shown. The scene depicts a homa-style fire with cowdung smoke used for purifying preparations.2017-08-31August 31 20172017-08-31Two bare-chested male devotees in orange and maroon cloth sit close together over a round brass tray holding dried cowdung cakes. One man, at left, holds the tray, while the other, at right, binds or handles a small bundle of green herbs with his hands. Rudraksha malas and metal pendants hang on their chests, and beaded bracelets are on their wrists. A bowl of white flowers and incense sticks sits in the lower foreground, consistent with Aushada preparation.2017-08-31August 31 20172017-08-31August 31 20172017-08-31Photograph of a dense pile of dried cowdung cakes burning on a low fire, releasing thick white smoke that rises through the frame. A person in an orange-saffron garment with a rudraksha mala is at the left edge, hands reaching toward the fire. A cameraman filming with a rig stands in the background, and a metal vessel sits at the lower right.2017-08-31 +1 copiesAugust 31 20172017-08-31August 29 20172017-08-29