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Outdoor homa ritual at night before a decorated shrine. A fire burns in a tiered brick fire pit strewn with rose petals. A shirtless priest in a green cloth and white dhoti pours an offering from a brass vessel with a ladle into the flames, while other shirtless men in white dhotis sit nearby, one in a green headband and one with a rudraksha-style neck cord. Behind them a decorated ratha-style structure with lions, white garlands, fruit and a figure in orange sits at the top of the frame. On the right, a man in orange and white sits at microphones. Brass pots, banana leaves and marigold petals lie on the ground, and a few onlookers' heads are visible in the foreground. No one is identified as a person in this image.

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July 04 20162016-07-04July 04 20162016-07-04July 04 20162016-07-04Night-time homa at an outdoor ritual site: a flaming fire pit of brick and stone sits in the foreground, with a tiered decorated altar behind it draped in marigold garlands, fruit and a lion-headed pedestal. Several priests sit on green mats in white dhotis; one wears a green sash and bare chest, another an orange shawl, and others sit cross-legged holding ritual vessels and a microphone stand. Illuminated deity figures and gold-painted shrine arches frame the background. No a person candidate is clearly identifiable from appearance, so the figures are described by role only.2016-07-04A ceremonial homa at night in an open outdoor pavilion. A visible fire burns in a tiered brick fire pit, surrounded by yellow-orange offerings and a small mound of grain. Behind it stands an ornate, colourful decorated altar with a kalasha-like pot topped with flowers and garlands. Several men in white dhotis and shawls, some shirtless with green or red cloths and rudraksha, sit on the grass chanting and performing the fire ritual. Golden-lit deity murtis flank the back wall, and onlookers sit in the foreground, some in white and orange saris. Brass vessels and microphones are visible.2016-07-04A photograph of a Vedic homa fire ritual at a temple. In the foreground, a bare-chested priest in a white dhoti with a yellow-and-green shawl and a golden-yellow headwrap sits on a green mat, extending his right arm toward a tiered fire altar with a flame. The fire altar is built of stacked golden-yellow bricks decorated with red and white flower petals, and behind it a tiered decorated structure with carved lions and a cobra motif. Several seated devotees in white clothes and red-orange shawls sit behind the priest, and a pile of white flowers sits in a basket at left. Deity murtis and colourful decorations fill the background.2016-07-02A photograph of an outdoor homa or yagna at dusk. A fire burns in the centre of a yellow-brick fire pit decorated with red flower petals and white powder, with a brass lamp and oil lamps nearby. Seated on the ground at left, a priest with a pink head cloth, bare chest and rudraksha-style beads, in white dhoti, performs the rite. At centre-right a man in white dhoti and orange-brown shawl sings into a microphone. Two more men in white dhotis, one in a red-orange cloth, sit around the fire. Behind them stands a colourful deity murti with lion figures and a cobra-hooded base. Fruit, flowers and brass vessels lie in front of the pit.2016-07-03July 04 20162016-07-04 +1 copiesJuly 04 20162016-07-04A photograph of a night homa in a decorated tent hall. A large fire burns in a brick fire pit, its stepped brick base decorated with flowers, with a tiered ornate shrine behind it. Several men in white dhotis sit cross-legged around the fire, one bare-chested with a sacred thread, and one in an orange wrap and white dhoti stands at the right. Brass pots, bowls, flowers and a basket of grains sit on the ground in front, with microphones on stands near the men. Illuminated golden shrines with deity murti line the back of the hall, with colourful hanging tassels above. Several people in white and a few in red and orange sit in the background, with a few other figures standing nearby.2016-07-04September 26 20172017-09-26July 04 20162016-07-04