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Night outdoor ritual under a open-sided canopy with hanging red and yellow pennants. A shaved-headed priest in saffron-orange robes sits cross-legged on a white platform, raising his right hand in blessing toward a square fire pit or homa kund. Two white-clad assistants kneel nearby, one holding a ritual implement and the other with a sacred thread and tilak; one wears a white dhoti with a gold border. Brass pots, a kalasha, a tray of white ritual powder and a long beaded garland lie on the mats. A large red-upholstered throne with gold trim stands at left, holding a framed portrait of a saffron-robed figure, and in the background a seated audience in white clothes watches. Trays of prepared food, fruit and sweets fill the foreground.