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Night photograph of a Vilakku Pooja inside a open-sided tent decorated with rows of red and orange triangular bunting and tall striped pillars. Dozens of women in white saris sit cross-legged on the floor in rows, each holding or tending a brass oil lamp (vilakku) with flames, while rangoli floral designs decorate the ground in front. At the centre stands a raised stone platform with a deity murti draped in garlands, and a priest in white stands at the front making offerings near the lamps. Pots and kalasha vessels are arranged along the platform's base.

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Night photograph inside a open-sided tent-like pavilion with a metal-frame roof, where rows of devotees sit on the floor in white and light-coloured clothes holding brass oil lamps (vilakku) that line both sides of a central aisle. Colourful rangoli floor designs are drawn along the aisle. At the far end, a deity murti with garlands is set on a raised stone platform, lit by hanging bulbs, while more white-clad people stand near it. Tall striped decorative poles and saffron bunting decorate the hall. This is a vilakku pooja scene with lamps lit in rows before the murti.2006-12-31Evening Vilakku Pooja in an open-sided pavilion with a striped tent roof and a row of orange pennants. At the centre, a garlanded deity murti with a decorated arch sits on a stone platform. Rows of women in white saris with orange borders sit on the floor with palms pressed together, with brass oil lamps and lit wicks placed before them. A priest in white stands at the shrine beside a lit lamp, with more white-clad assistants standing along the sides. Rows of small metal pots with flower decorations line the floor in front of the shrine. The room is dim and smoky.2006-12-31Photograph of a large outdoor Vilakku Pooja under a open tent canopy at dusk. Rows of seated devotees, many in white clothes, face each other along a long central aisle lined with lit oil lamps (vilakku) on brass stands. Colourful rangoli floor designs in white, pink, purple and green decorate the ground, scattered with flower petals. At the far end, a deity murti is decorated with garlands on a raised dais, with a seated figure in white clothes beside it. Strings of orange triangular bunting and tall striped hanging cloth banners decorate the tent.2006-12-31Evening photograph under a large open-sided tent with a metal frame. At the far end, a stone shrine holds a richly decorated deity murti draped in marigold garlands and flowers, with lamps before it. A figure in white sits at the shrine base performing worship. Rows of people, mostly seated on the floor in white and orange clothing, face the shrine with brass oil lamps in front of them, and women in green and purple saris sit on the right. Colourful rangoli patterns decorate the floor, and striped cloth banners and orange pennants hang overhead. Small figures in white and saffron stand near the shrine.2007-01-01A large pandal hall at an evening vilakku pooja. Rows of women in white saris and white clothes with orange or coloured borders sit on the floor, each with a brass oil lamp lit on a leaf or plate with flowers and offerings in front of them. Floor kolam designs in pink, blue and green decorate the foreground. Behind them, a crowd of seated devotees, many in white, fills the hall under a tent roof hung with striped orange, blue and pink pillar covers and small flags. At the far end stands a decorated deity shrine with a floral arch. A few men in white dhotis sit among the crowd.2006-12-31Evening vilakku pooja under a open-sided tent. Rows of seated devotees, mostly women in white saris with orange borders, face a raised shrine holding a colourful deity murti, possibly a goddess, with a priest in white at its base. Many brass oil lamps stand on the floor in front of the rows, with rangoli patterns between them. Rows of clay pots with offerings sit before the shrine. Orange and white triangular bunting hangs above, and tall decorated pillars stand at the sides. A man in white and an orange-clad figure stand nearby.2006-12-31A photograph of a Vilakku Pooja in a long open-sided pavilion at dusk. Rows of devotees, mostly women in white and coloured saris, sit on the floor on either side of a central aisle lined with oil lamps (vilakku). Yellow flower petals spell out Tamil letters on the ground, and white kolam designs with flower petals decorate the floor. Orange festoons and hanging cylindrical banners line the roof. At the far end, a deity murti stands in a shrine, with a standing figure in orange clothing in front of it and other white-clad attendants nearby. Oil lamps and a few people stand along the sides.2006-12-31A long row of women devotees, many in white saris with coloured borders, sits cross-legged on mats under a open-sided pavilion hung with striped and patterned banners. Each woman holds her palms joined in prayer in front of a brass oil lamp (vilakku) lit with a flame, with brass plates of flowers, fruit and banana leaves set beside them. Floor kolam designs decorate the ground. In the background, a deity murti decorated with garlands is set in a shrine, with a figure in white standing nearby, and pots are arranged along the front of the shrine. The scene shows a vilakku pooja in progress.2006-12-31A photograph of a dim, open-sided pavilion during an evening vilakku pooja. Dozens of devotees sit in rows on the floor, many women in white and cream saris and men in white shirts, several with palms pressed together in prayer. In the foreground, women hold brass oil lamps and arrange lit lamps on leaf-like plates. Along the floor in front of a raised shrine, rows of small clay lamps glow. At the far right, a deity murti is decorated with gold and orange drapery beneath a canopy, with priests in white standing nearby. Striped cylindrical banners in red, blue and orange hang from the roof, and strings of small orange flags run across the ceiling. Rangoli patterns are visible on the ground.2006-12-31Wide view of an open-sided pavilion where rows of women in white saris sit on mats before lit brass oil lamps (vilakku) arranged along the aisle, a traditional vilakku pooja. Colourful rangoli kolam floor designs in pink, blue, green and orange decorate the ground between the rows. At the far end, a decorated deity murti sits on a raised shrine platform garlanded with marigolds and flowers, with a priest in white seated before it. Ritual brass pots and fruit offerings are set on the platform. Red and orange bunting hangs across the ceiling and tall striped decorative pillars line the sides. A man in white stands with a camera near the platform, and a few people in orange and white clothing stand at the front.2006-12-31A dim tented hall during an evening vilakku pooja. Rows of women and girls in white saris sit cross-legged on the floor facing a central shrine with a deity murti decorated with a gold-trimmed backdrop and flower garlands. Brass oil lamps (vilakku) with lit wicks stand before each participant on banana-leaf or plate offerings, and colourful kolam rangoli designs in pink, blue, orange and green decorate the floor between the rows. Striped ceremonial pillars with saffron pennants line the hall, and smoke or incense haze drifts through the air under a single hanging bulb.2006-12-31A wide photograph inside a open-sided pandal hung with orange pennants and tall striped cloth columns with bird and flower motifs. Rows of women in white saris with orange borders sit on the floor, palms joined, before brass oil lamps and small floral offerings on mats. Colourful rangoli designs decorate the ground, and clay pots and brass vessels sit in the foreground. Behind them, standing devotees in white, many of them men, watch the ritual, and decorated arches frame the back of the hall. No individual can be confidently identified as a particular figure from the scene.2007-01-01