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Night-time Hindu ritual outdoors beside a Ganesha murti decorated with marigold garlands and colourful string lights. Several shaved-headed men in white dhoti-style cloths and gold necklaces sit cross-legged on mats, one holds a brass plate of puffed rice or grains. A person in a red-and-gold shawl bends forward over a raised square fire or homa platform with offerings, while a man in white robes sits behind it near a brass kalasha and lamps. Oil lamps burn on the altar and smoke rises from the ritual area.

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October 16 20102010-10-16 +1 copiesNight outdoor fire ritual at a homa pit, with flames rising from a raised square fire pit. A standing priest in white dhoti and cream shawl with a beaded necklace holds a small lamp and a ritual item near the flame. Several seated priests in white clothes sit around the pit, one with a beaded necklace and one in an orange-toned wrap. Brass plates of offerings and nuts sit on a cloth in the foreground. Behind them a decorated shrine has a ganesha murti with a bright yellow-orange trunk and flower garlands, a brass lamp stand with lit wicks, and strings of red and white lights. Tall decorated poles with colourful bands and green leaves frame the scene.2010-10-16 +1 copiesNight-time homa ritual at an outdoor temple setting strung with coloured fairy lights and green bunting. A standing priest in white dhoti and bare upper body, with a rudraksha-style necklace, leans over a square fire pit filled with glowing embers and tends the fire with a long stick. Seated white-clad participants in the foreground, some with shaved heads and folded hands, watch and assist; brass trays of flowers and offerings sit near them. Behind the fire pit is a decorated shrine with a pink Ganesha deity murti, garlands of marigold and white flowers, a kalasha-style ornament and a decorated canopy.2010-10-15Night outdoor ritual before a stone fire pit or homa altar lit by a bright light and strings of multicoloured lights. A bald priest in white dhoti and shawl sits cross-legged behind the altar with hands folded, another priest in white sits to his right, and several young boys in white cloth sit on mats in front, one holding a brass plate of offerings and another with hands in anjali. Boys wear gold ceremonial necklaces. A pink Ganesha murti decorated with flowers and garlands stands at right beside brass oil lamps, bananas and marigold garlands. Banana leaves, a decorated pillar and a carved wooden throne-like seat appear in the background.2010-10-15October 16 20102010-10-16 +1 copiesNight-time homa or yagna at an open-air outdoor setting strung with leafy garlands and colourful cloth banners. Several men in plain white dhoti-style cloth with rudraksha-style beaded necklaces sit on mats around a raised fire pit, and one man in the foreground holds a ladle over the pit while another pours from a vessel. Brass oil lamp, brass bowls and a brass kalasha-like vessel stand near a seated figure draped in a green and gold silk cloth with yellow and orange marigold garlands. A man with shaved head and plain white cloth and a wooden-armed seat is at the right. Smoke rises in the lamplight.2010-10-15October 16 20102010-10-16 +1 copiesNight-time homa at an outdoor ashram courtyard lit by strings of fairy lights. A standing priest in white dhoti and shawl, wearing gold-bead necklaces, stirs a brick fire pit with a long ladle while several seated priests in white clothes and beads chant with folded hands around it. A photographer with a camera stands in the background. On the right, a large pink Ganesha murti stands beside brass oil lamps with lit flames, bowls of fruit, and red and white garlands. Marigold petals are scattered around the pit. The scene shows a yagna being performed, with offerings and a deity murti in the setting.2010-10-16 +2 copiesOctober 16 20102010-10-16 +1 copiesOctober 16 20102010-10-16 +1 copiesOctober 16 20102010-10-16 +1 copiesOctober 15 20102010-10-15