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Photograph of a crowded temple ritual with devotees in white dhotis and bare upper bodies, some with white tilak markings on their foreheads. In the foreground a devotee in an orange-red cloth offers something from a green plate. Behind him a white-clad priest attends a stone deity murti decorated with flower garlands and a blue cloth, beside a stone kalasha and small statues. Oil lamps and scattered flower petals are on the floor, and red-walled structures stand in the background.

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March 07 20162016-03-07March 07 20162016-03-07Outdoor temple-courtyard scene at a shrine with a large white Shiva linga on a stone base, decorated with yellow and red flower garlands and a garland-draped deity figure behind. A seated man in a red-orange dhoti and shawl, wearing layered garlands of yellow and red flowers and a tall black hair bun, sits in front of the linga with bare hands extended, while a priest in orange and a white-clad attendant with tilak markings tend offerings. Several people in white dhotis with rudraksha malas and smeared white ash stand and sit around the shrine, and a woman in red sari sits nearby. Ritual items include a silver tray, a bowl of white sugar or ash, and scattered marigold petals.2016-03-07March 07 20162016-03-07A photograph of a temple ritual at an outdoor-adjacent mandapa. A central seated figure in red-orange ceremonial dress, with a long swept-back dark braided hairstyle, white sacred ash markings on the body, and a yellow-and-red marigold garland, sits before a lingam-shaped stone shrine being bathed in water and sacred substances. Behind the central figure, an ornately decorated deity murti wears a red garland and gold ornaments beside a white lingam. Around them, men in white dhotis and shawls, some bare-chested with white ash on their heads, stand, sit and assist, with a woman in red-orange clothing holding a bowl at lower right. Marigold petals are scattered on the stone platform. Relevant cues are the sacred ash, garlands and the lingam abhishekam setting, consistent with Mahashivaratri festivities at the ashram.2016-03-07March 07 20162016-03-07March 07 20162016-03-07A photograph of an outdoor temple ritual at a shrine. A seated figure with long, swept-back dark hair wears a red-orange garment, a rudraksha mala and a thick yellow and red marigold garland, with white ash markings on the body. Hands are cupped in front of him above a stone slab holding offerings and a tray. Behind him, a decorated deity murti is draped with garlands. Around him, a crowd of men in white dhotis with gold borders, some bare-chested with rudraksha malas and white forehead markings, stand with folded hands. A standing priest in orange and a rudraksha mala assists nearby. Stone pillars and a red boundary wall frame the open-air setting.2016-03-07March 07 20162016-03-07Photograph of a temple ritual at a Mahashivaratri event. A man with a tall, swept-up black hairstyle and a sindoor-like white and red face paste sits on the left in an orange-red cloth, wearing a long yellow, red and white marigold garland and a bracelet, and holds white ash in his hands near a deity murti decorated with flower garlands. Beside him a figure in a rust-orange robe with a rudraksha mala and a white-painted face and tall dark hair stands tending the offerings. Devotees press forward from the right, including women in white saris and a man in white near the back. Palm trees and a stone pillar frame the scene, and a red cloth hangs in the background. Ash and petals are scattered on the ritual platform.2016-03-07March 07 20162016-03-07March 07 20162016-03-07