December 18 2013 - Nithyanandapedia

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December 18 2013

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December 18 2013

A photograph of an outdoor ritual at the base of a large banyan tree with many hanging aerial roots. In the foreground a priest in white dhoti and white shawl with a gold-bordered cloth holds a brass lamp with a flame, offering it near a stone platform circling the tree trunk. Behind him a cameraman in a dark vest and white shirt films. On a black cloth in front are plantains, coconut halves, packaged snacks, a red cloth-wrapped object, jute string and a small brass bowl, typical of an aarti offering. Dry leaves scatter the ground and a reddish wall is visible behind the tree. No identifiable a person figure is visible.

October 19 2010

Outdoor photo beneath a huge banyan tree with thick aerial roots wrapping its trunk. A standing devotee in a flowing orange saffron wrap, with long dark hair and a green leaf garland over the shoulder, faces the trunk while holding a lit oil lamp or offering. Yellow and orange marigold garlands hang on the roots. In the foreground at right, a white cloth covers a seated or offered object beside an orange cushion, a small brass vessel and a stone base, with white kolam designs on the ground. Another orange-clad figure stands at the far right edge. The scene shows an outdoor puja at a sacred tree.

A photograph of an outdoor shrine beneath a large banyan tree with many hanging aerial roots. A bald man in white dhoti and white upper cloth stands barefoot on a dark stone platform, raising a lit oil lamp or arati lamp toward the tree with one arm. Beside him a woman in a white sari with a yellow shawl and braided hair stands with her hands joined in prayer. A round brass plate with offerings sits on a low stone ledge, and a white cloth-covered object rests on the stone base at the foot of the tree.

A photograph of a large banyan tree with many hanging aerial roots and spreading limbs at an outdoor shrine. A shaved-headed man in a white dhoti with a maroon border stands barefoot on dark polished stone slabs at left, raising a small metal cup or lamp in his right hand toward the branches. Before the tree stands a low stone platform holding a metal plate with offerings and a white fibrous whisk or fan-like object, with stone steps in front.

June 30 2010

December 11 2011

A photograph of an outdoor ritual at a large banyan tree with many aerial roots. In the centre, a person in a bare-chested, draped red-orange cloth and a white flower garland holds a lit oil lamp (aarti) toward the tree while speaking. Around the tree, flower garlands in white and orange-red hang in swags on the trunk and roots. Behind and to the left, a group of about a dozen men in white shirts and white dhotis stand with palms pressed together in prayer. A person at the far left holds a gold-topped staff. The ground is bare earth with a dark stone slab in the foreground. The person in red has no visible crown, turban or rudraksha, so the identity is uncertain.

A photograph at an outdoor sacred site beneath a large banyan tree with thick aerial roots and yellow and orange garlands tied around them. In the foreground a woman with long dark hair wears an orange sari-style wrap and a green and yellow flower garland, holding a lit oil lamp toward the tree while standing before a dark reflective stone surface. Beside her a man in white dhoti and white shirt with an orange shawl gestures over the water-like surface. Another orange-clad figure stands at the left edge, and a bald-headed person in white sits partly visible at the bottom. A white chalk kolam pattern lines the ground. Two people are visible in the scene, though others are partly cut off at the frame edges.

A photograph of a devotional ritual beside a large banyan tree with many hanging aerial roots. In the centre, a bare-chested man in an orange dhoti and a white-and-orange flower garland holds a lit flame or lamp toward the tree's base on sandy ground. To the left, a man in white holds a tray of flowers. Behind them, about a dozen onlookers in white shirts, dark clothing and striped shirts stand in a loose group, several with hands folded in prayer. The scene is outdoors in dappled sunlight with tree roots and leafy branches overhead. The swami's identity cannot be determined from appearance here, so the figure is described by role as a priest.

A photograph of a large banyan tree with many aerial roots and trunk, wrapped with a long garland of red, yellow, white and green flowers. A man stands at left in a rust-orange dhoti with a gold border and a red-and-blue flower garland over his shoulders, bare-chested with gold armlets, and holds a brass oil lamp and bell. A flame burns in the lamp near the tree. Swamiji (probable): the figure has long, swept-back dark hair, a gold necklace and a rudraksha-style garland, which are the qualifying cues.