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A dense, hazy crowd fills a hall hung with garlands of marigold and red flowers. Many hands are raised in the air, some holding mobile phones, and a bright open flame glows in the centre background. In the foreground, several men wear pale green or yellow peaked caps and khaki uniforms. Smoke and warm light blur the scene, and no individual is clearly identifiable as a known figure from appearance alone.

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A dim, smoky hall hung with strings of marigold and multicoloured flower garlands across the ceiling. A bright flame burns in the background at the far end of the room, surrounded by a dense crowd of devotees seen from behind, many raising their arms and hands upward. Several men in front wear light caps and shirts, and some hold up phones or cameras. The crowd fills the foreground.2006-12-04A dim, smoky hall crowded with devotees, many with raised hands in namaskar and arms lifted toward a bright open flame in the centre. Overhead hang strings of yellow and red flower garlands. Men in shirts and cloth caps and a person wearing a beaded necklace stand close together, some holding up mobile phones. No individual can be clearly picked out as a person from this distance, and the scene is dominated by the flame and the crowd's gesture of devotion, consistent with a karthikai deepam lamp lighting.2006-12-04December 04 2006 - Karthikai Deepam, Tiruvannamalai2006-12-04A photograph of a dimly lit temple ritual with smoke and warm lamplight. At the centre, several large brass oil lamps burn on a wide round metal tray decorated with yellow and white flower garlands. Behind the lamps, a crowd of about twenty devotees, mostly men in white shirts and dhotis, stands watching closely. On the left, a bare-chested man wears a tall ornate crown-like headdress, a flower garland and beaded necklaces. Several bare-chested priests on the right wear rudraksha malas and wrapped cloths, one with glasses. The scene looks like an arati or lamp-offering ceremony with sacred smoke rising.2006-12-04December 04 2006 - Karthikai Deepam, Tiruvannamalai2006-12-04December 04 2006 - Karthikai Deepam, Tiruvannamalai2006-12-04December 23 20162016-12-23December 04 2006 - Karthikai Deepam, Tiruvannamalai2006-12-04Photograph of a dim temple interior during a ritual lamp ceremony. In the foreground a bare-chested man in a tall ornate gold-and-silver crown and a saffron wrap holds a floral garland of yellow and white flowers and stands before a large brass tray of lit oil lamps. Several devotees stand behind, some bare-chested with rudraksha malas and vibhuti, others in white shirts. At the right edge a shaved-headed priest in a saffron cloth and beaded necklaces, with glasses, watches the flames. Strings of marigold garlands hang from the ceiling. A small logo appears at top left and a copyright line sits at right.2006-12-04Night-time photograph of a crowded devotional scene. A man in a white shirt and white dhoti stands center-right holding a lit oil lamp aloft, while a bare-shouldered priest in white cloth beside him also holds a flame. Around them devotees press close in shirts of brown, red, and checked white-and-red, some with hands pressed together in prayer. A decorated deity murti with white garlands is visible at the upper right. Warm lamplight and bright flares dominate the frame.2014-07-01A large hall filled with seated devotees in white clothing and orange or saffron shawls, many with palms pressed together in prayer or raised hands. In the foreground a fire pit with visible flames sits on a striped rug, with offering trays and brass vessels nearby. At the right, priests in white and saffron dhotis tend the fire near a decorated seat with a golden canopy. Hanging lamps, ceiling fans, and a tall lamp stand fill the background under purple stage lighting, and a cameraman stands near the left wall. A white-clad man stands at the far left, and a bald man in white sits in the center foreground.2015-07-16Dense smoke fills a hall where saffron-robed sadhus and devotees gather around a small fire in a metal bowl at lower left, its flame visible through the haze. In the foreground, a bald, white-bearded man in orange robes with a tilak on his forehead stands with hands joined in namaskar, and a man with a mala-style necklace in orange cloth stands beside him. Behind them, a man in a red turban and others in orange and red clothing face the fire, some holding offerings. Bodies are blurred by the smoke, and the setting appears to be an open ashram pavilion with light coming through its upper windows.2015-01-13