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Outdoor-style covered hall at night during a fire ritual. A young man in a dark red-brown shawl and matching dhoti stands barefoot on a tiled floor, wearing a gold-patterned turban and a white wrist band, with his arm extended over a fire pit of blackened stones and scattered marigold garlands. An older man in a white shirt and white dhoti stands beside him holding offerings. A bald man in saffron-orange robes stands at right with palms joined in prayer, and a woman in a purple sari stands near the crowd. About 20 people are visible in the background, several in saffron and white, near a cinderblock wall and corrugated roof with fluorescent lights. The ritual appears to be a homa with a fire pit.

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October 05 20132013-10-05Night-time outdoor homa at a brick-walled open-sided shed. A central figure in a rust-orange and gold-bordered dhoti and shawl, with a leopard-print headwrap and a white bandage on the right arm, stands at a small brick fire pit holding a flame-lit offering. Another man in a white dhoti and shirt holds a small bowl near the fire. Several onlookers in white and saffron clothing watch from the right side of the frame, and a red-and-white garland lies by the brick fire pit.2013-10-05Photo of an outdoor ritual under a corrugated metal roof with fluorescent lights and a cinder-block wall. In the centre, a man in a rust-brown robe with a gold-bordered cloth and a leopard-print headwrap holds a pink-and-white cloth or item over a fire pit on the sandy floor. Beside him stands a man in an orange-saffron robe with a rudraksha mala, and to the right a man in a brown robe holds a silver tray. On the left, a man in white dhoti and shirt holds a small metal bowl. A woman in a white sari with purple border stands at right. Several white-clad and saffron-clad devotees watch from behind. Marigold petals and pieces of wood lie on the ground, consistent with a homa or fire ritual.2013-10-05October 05 20132013-10-05Outdoor ritual under a corrugated metal roof at night, with a fire pit of glowing embers in front. A man in a white dhoti stoops to tend the fire while people in saffron and orange robes with gold-edged borders stand around. A central figure in saffron robes with a long rudraksha mala and a tilak on the forehead gestures toward the flames, and a bare-chested man in saffron stands to the right. Women in saffron saris and a man in white with gold trim watch from the left. Red flower petals rest near the fire, and a bucket sits in the background.2013-07-13Night ritual under a corrugated metal roof with a brick wall behind. In the foreground a glowing red-hot clay vessel sits on a dark stone beside an open fire on bare earth. A row of men in white dhotis and white shirts stands behind it, one in an ochre-brown robe with a gold-bordered cloth, another with a rudraksha mala, bare-chested with a white cloth over the shoulder. Men in white and in saffron-orange robes stand nearby, with a few onlookers in the background. A man at right in white holds an object and gestures. The scene suggests a homa or fire offering.2013-09-04A photograph of a homa or yagna at an open-sided shed with a corrugated metal roof. In the foreground a mound of ash and earth holds a smouldering fire with smoke rising, surrounded by dark red flowers and petals. Behind it stand a group of people in white and cream dhotis and saris with gold borders, several in brown or maroon sacred garments, and one man in a cream shirt. A figure in a maroon garment and gold-bordered cloth, with a long dark hair, gestures toward the fire. Some people wear orange and saffron shawls, and a few have orange lanyards. Devotees watch from the sides.2013-09-04September 04 20132013-09-04September 04 20132013-09-04 +2 copiesA night-time homa or yagna at an open-sided shed. Several monastics in saffron-brown robes stand around a brick fire pit where flames rise over small clay pots and vessels. A robed man with a rudraksha mala crouches and feeds offerings into the fire with a long iron rod, while another man in brown with a gold-trimmed cloth and beaded waist belt assists beside him. A man on the left in brown robes stands watching, and a standing man on the right wears white dhoti and reddish body markings. Behind them a crowd of devotees in white, cream and brown garments watches. Smaller fire pits burn in the background and bright white tube lights hang from the roof. Persons visible: roughly 30.2013-09-04September 04 20132013-09-04Night photo of a fire-walking ritual on dark earth. A glowing pit of embers runs across the foreground, and a man in a white shirt and dark trousers walks across it at the centre. Around him, several people in orange and saffron robes, some with white-painted foreheads, stand close to the pit, and a line of white-clad devotees watches from the background. Smoke rises at the top left. A figure in orange cloth stands at the far left edge and a robed person appears at the right edge. The image is a dim, blurred photograph. The walker's identity cannot be confirmed from appearance alone.2013-04-03