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A photograph of an evening homa at an ashram pavilion with banana leaves and leafy festoons overhead. A man in saffron-orange robes with a rudraksha mala and a shaved head stands centrally holding a flaming oil lamp and a small vessel. Seated devotees in white clothes with yellow shawls kneel around the fire pit with folded hands, and a standing man in white with a yellow shawl is at right. Brass lamps, a kalasha-like vessel, marigold petals and smoke fill the scene.

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September 25 20092009-09-25Evening ritual at a pandal with banana leaves and palm fronds overhead. A standing man in saffron-orange robes and a matching hood, with gold beaded necklaces and bangles, holds a lit flame on a brass lamp and performs aarti. Several seated participants in white clothing with yellow shawls surround him; one holds a brass plate of offerings, and another plays a round frame drum. A microphone stands at left, and smoke drifts through the scene. A man in red-orange garments with a beaded necklace sits near the microphone.2009-09-25A standing figure in saffron-orange robes with a hooded drape and a gold-beaded necklace holds a lit multi-wick brass aarti lamp in one hand and a small bell in the other during an evening ritual. Smoke fills the air, and a fire pit sits in front of him edged with yellow marigold petals, with silver and brass vessels and offerings on a tray. Seated devotees in white clothes with yellow shawls press their palms together, and one wears a rudraksha mala. Green palm fronds hang overhead. The lamp flame and aarti gesture suggest an aarti performed during a homa.2009-09-25A night-time homa ceremony outdoors under a canopy decorated with banana leaves, mango foliage and marigold garlands. A standing man in a saffron-orange robe with a matching orange head cloth and beads holds a brass tray with a lit flame above his head. Around him sit devotees in orange and yellow shawls and white garments, some with hands pressed in anjali. Women in orange saris and orange garments sit on an orange cloth in the foreground. Brass oil lamps and bowls of offerings and marigold petals are arranged on a white cloth, and a standing brass lamp stands at the right. The scene suggests an aarti or fire ritual during a homa.2009-09-26Night photo of an outdoor fire ritual on a raised yellow platform with a square fire pit filled with ash and surrounded by white and yellow flower garlands. A man in a flowing orange-saffron robe, with a shaved head, a beaded necklace and a long wooden staff, stands at the back holding a silver fire vessel aloft with flames rising from it. Around him, white-clad men and women sit and stand, some with hands joined, and a line of seated devotees fills the background under dim lamps. Coloured canopy umbrellas and smoke frame the scene. Other people wear white dhotis, saris and shawls, with orange stoles on some.2007-02-11September 25 20092009-09-25 +1 copiesA night homa ritual under a decorated canopy with green, orange and blue festoons, banana leaves and mango-leaf strings. A standing figure in a saffron-orange robe with a hood and a long beaded mala holds a metal vessel with a burning flame in both hands. Seated around a low ceremonial platform are about ten people: women in orange and white with braided hair in the foreground, and men in white dhotis with yellow shawls, one with hands folded in añjali. Brass vessels and a tall brass oil lamp sit on the platform, and a garland of marigolds hangs at the left edge. Smoke rises through the lamplight.2009-09-26A standing man in saffron-orange robes holds a silver plate with a lit camphor flame during an evening aarti at an open-air pavilion decorated with orange, green and blue tiered fabric streamers and mango leaf strings. He wears a gold chain and a white vertical tilak on his forehead. Seated to the right, several men in white dhotis and yellow shawls with rudraksha malas take part, one holding a microphone. Brass lamps and bowls of flowers and fruit sit in the foreground.2009-09-26A photograph of a night homa ceremony under a temporary pandal decorated with orange cloth and leafy garlands. A bald priest in orange robes with a red-edged shawl and a gold bead necklace holds a lit ritual lamp aloft in his right hand and a bell in his left. Smoke rises from a fire pit on a white platform scattered with yellow marigold petals and red kolam designs. Behind him an attendant in white dhoti and yellow shawl holds a long palm-leaf canopy stick, and seated devotees in white and yellow shawls sit on the ground. Brass plates of sweets, a kalasha and a brass lamp sit on the platform.2009-09-25A night-time homa at an open-sided pavilion decorated with banana leaves, mango leaves and strings of flowers. A central fire pit sends up smoke, with marigold petals and flower garlands laid around its edge. A man in saffron robes and an orange head cloth stands at the centre, holding a brass plate and pouring offerings into the fire. Nearby, men in white dhotis and yellow shawls hold trays of offerings. Seated on the right, a person in white and yellow sits before a brass lamp stand, and a saffron-robed man kneels at the fire on the left, with bowls of fruit and sweets in the foreground. Several other participants are in saffron and white.2009-09-26A shaved-headed man in saffron-orange robes with a red-and-gold border stands at night under a canopy of orange, green and leafy decorations, holding a metal plate of burning camphor flame with red and yellow flowers. He wears a long beaded gold-and-white necklace and gold bangles. Around him seated devotees in white clothes with yellow shawls press their palms together, and some hold small oil lamps. In the foreground a woman's head is visible, and a decorated white basket with banana leaves and flowers sits at right. Smoke drifts across the scene, indicating an aarti ceremony during a chandi homa.2009-09-25Night-time ritual under a pavilion with green and orange festoons and mango-leaf torans. A standing figure in orange robes and a matching orange shawl, with a mala around the neck, holds a brass tray with a lit flame, releasing smoke into the air. Devotees seated before him wear orange and white with yellow shawls, several with hands folded in anjali. In the foreground are seated people in orange, and a brass lamp stands at right beside banana plants. a person is the orange-robed figure holding the flame, identified by saffron robes and mala cues; the scene reads as an aarti or homa-style fire offering.2009-09-26