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Outdoors on bare sandy ground under palm trees, many devotees sit cross-legged in a long row beside smoking shallow fire pits filled with grey ash and embers. Most wear orange shawls over cream or white clothing. In the foreground a woman with short dark hair and glasses, wearing an orange shawl and cream sari, sits with hands folded in her lap. Behind the row stands a tall copper-coloured flagstaff, white stone platforms and a black stone deity murti under a garland, with a thatched hut at the left. A standing man in white clothes is at the right edge. A small panel at left shows a diagram. The scene suggests a homa or yagna-style fire ritual.

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August 08 20102010-08-08Outdoor ritual scene on sandy ground beneath coconut palms. Several devotees sit in a long row on cushions or mats, each beside a circular pit of grey ash and smouldering embers, with thin smoke rising. The foreground woman wears a white sari with an orange shawl over her shoulders and wire-rimmed glasses, hands resting in her lap. Others nearby wear white clothes with orange or yellow shawls. Behind them stand white-painted shrines, a tall red-and-white ritual pole with yellow garland, a small deity murti and a thatched hut. A banner with green lettering stands at left. The scene suggests a pancha tapas fire-meditation practice.2010-08-10 +1 copiesA photograph of an outdoor Pancha Tapas ritual on a bare earth ground under palm trees. Many women sit cross-legged in rings of ash and burnt earth, with smoke rising around them. Foreground women wear white dhotis or sarees with orange shawls and hold their hands in meditative posture; others wear white with yellow shawls. Behind them are white stepped platforms, a tall wooden pole, and a signboard. A sannyasi-like figure in white stands at right. No candidate for a person is clearly visible, so no appearance-based identification is made.2010-08-10 +1 copiesAugust 08 20102010-08-08 +1 copiesAugust 08 20102010-08-08 +1 copiesAugust 08 20102010-08-08 +1 copiesOutdoor photo of devotees performing a fire-based practice on sandy ground under coconut palms. Several seated women in white and orange-saffron shawls sit in rows on circular patches of grey ash and charred earth, with smoke rising between them. In the foreground a woman in an orange shawl and white sari sits cross-legged with eyes closed. Behind them stand a tall golden-tipped pillar and a white shrine structure with a small stone figure. A white pigeon walks on the sand in front, and a notice board stands at left.2010-08-10 +1 copiesAugust 08 20102010-08-08 +1 copiesAugust 08 20102010-08-08 +1 copiesOutdoor photo of a Pancha Tapas practice at an ashram grounds. Many devotees sit cross-legged in a wide open field of sandy earth, each inside a circular ring of white ash and dark burnt soil. Most wear white clothes with orange or saffron shawls and some with yellow shawls. A man in white with a shovel stands at the right edge. Behind them are white stone shrines or stupas, a tall spire, palm trees, a thatched hut and a small banner. The scene is bright and hazy.2010-08-10 +1 copiesOutdoor photo at dawn or dusk of a dirt courtyard set with many circular fire pits lined with dark ash and blue-grey ash rings, where devotees sit cross-legged in rows. Most sit in white clothes with orange or saffron shawls, and some wear yellow shawls. Smoke rises from a fire pit at right. Behind them stand a tall wooden pole wrapped in garlands, white stepped platforms, a dark stone deity murti or statue on a white base, and tall coconut palms against a pale sky. A green information board stands at left. The scene resembles a pancha tapas fire penance practice. No individual is clearly identifiable as a person.2010-08-10 +1 copiesOutdoor photograph of several women seated on the ground in a palm-garden courtyard, each beside a circular ash-filled fire pit with dark soil around it. In the foreground a woman in an orange-red shawl and cream sari sits with hands resting on her lap. Behind her, a woman in white robes with a yellow headscarf sits with hands folded. Further back, other women in white and yellow sit near smoking pits, and a woman in a white robe and yellow cloth sits at the far right. Behind them stand an orange-and-white stone shrine base, a black stone kalasha-like pillar, and tropical plants. The setting suggests a homa or fire ritual.2011-08-10