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A night-time ritual outdoors on reddish earth. A man in a white shirt and white dhoti kneels and presses his hands into a mound of soil, placing marigold and white flowers around small dark stone or brick blocks. Beside him, a shaved-headed priest in orange-brown dhoti and a bead mala sits cross-legged, holding a metal plate of flowers. A thin smoke rises from the scene, and a small metal cup with incense sticks stands on the ground. Behind them, other figures in orange-brown cloth are partly visible, and a seated figure in an ornate brown and gold garment with a red-and-white flower garland sits to the left. A brass kalasha and a plate of sand or powder sit on a stone platform at right. The activity appears to be a ground ritual with flowers and smoke.

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April 24 20132013-04-24April 24 20132013-04-24April 24 20132013-04-24A man in a white shirt and white dhoti kneels at night on a mound of reddish-brown earth, pouring liquid from a small steel vessel over a dark stone set among scattered yellow and white flowers. Behind him, a second man in a dark garment and a rudraksha-like necklace leans forward holding a plate of flowers. At upper left, a figure seated on a golden chair wears a rust-brown garment with a gold border, with red and white flowers in a garland nearby. A brass plate of powdered substance and a silver pot sit on a stone ledge at right. The scene suggests a ritual abhishekam at an outdoor altar.2013-04-24April 24 20132013-04-24April 24 20132013-04-24A night-time ritual at an outdoor shrine, with a bare-chested priest in rudraksha malas and a red-brown dhoti kneeling beside a pit of freshly dug brown earth. The priest holds a silver tray of yellow flowers and a yellow-powder offering while an unseen worshipper in a white shirt and white dhoti kneels at the pit's edge, palms raised. Marigold petals and white flowers lie scattered around stone blocks, a small metal cup holds incense smoke, and a brass plate of earth and a silver vessel sit on a white stone platform. Other figures in red and gold garments are visible at the upper left. The scene suggests a bhoomi puja or ground-breaking ceremony.2013-04-24April 24 20132013-04-24Outdoor photograph of a small shrine at ground level where a shivalingam-like stone lingam sits on a dark stone base, decorated with yellow and white flowers and sending up incense smoke. A shaved-headed man in a saffron-orange robe with a long dark rudraksha mala kneels on the left, holding an incense stick toward the lingam. On the right, a man in a white sleeveless vest and white dhoti kneels and reaches toward a tray of offerings: red apples, bananas, a pineapple-like fruit and a jackfruit-yellow item on a yellow cloth. Plaster walls and bare earth surround the shrine.2013-04-24A ritual fire ceremony in progress on a floor covered with a mat and sand-coloured earth. A bald, bare-chested man in orange-saffron dhoti with gold borders kneels in front of a fire pit, hands extended over smoke. Beside him, a man in a white shirt and white dhoti kneels and tends the fire with a small object. Behind them, a figure seated on a red throne with a gold frame wears an orange garment and a red-and-yellow flower garland, with hands resting on his lap. Several attendants in saffron robes with gold borders and rudraksha malas stand and sit around, one holding a silver bowl. Marigold petals and a brass vessel lie near the fire.2013-04-24April 24 20132013-04-24Outdoor ritual scene beneath a large banyan tree with aerial roots. Two bare-chested monastics in rust-orange robes kneel on a dark tarpaulin, one with a shaved head and hoop earring, the other bending forward and touching sand. A third man in a white dhoti and white shawl crouches on the right, holding a long iron rod pressed into the ground, beside a stack of yellow-painted boxes or blocks topped with yellow flowers. A pink cloth lies in the foreground and a small flame glows in the background.2013-04-24