Frenzy

An entranced devotee dances before the Dark Mother. Mayurapathi Sri Badrakali Kovil Ther festival. Havelock Town, Colombo. July 2023.

^{• 70mm • f/2.8 • 1/2000 • ISO100 • Canon R6 & RF24-70/2.8L •}

Ther Beat Goes On

Mayurapathi Sri Badrakali Kovil Ther festival. Havelock Town, Colombo. July 2023.

^{• 70mm • f/2.8 • 1/1000 • ISO100 • Canon R6 & RF24-70/2.8L •}

Charioteer of the Gods

Mayurapathi Sri Badrakali Kovil Ther festival. Havelock Town, Colombo. July 2023.

^{• 70mm • f/2.8 • 1/2000 • ISO100 • Canon R6 & RF24-70/2.8L •}

Aunty Power

Female devotees line up to pull one of the heavy temple chariots at the Mayurapathi Sri Badrakali Kovil Ther festival. Havelock Town, Colombo. July 2023.

^{• 24mm • f/2.8 • 1/640 • ISO100 • Canon R6 & RF24-70/2.8L •}

Beat Street

Mayurapathi Sri Badrakali Kovil Ther festival. Havelock Town, Colombo. July 2023.

^{• 70mm • f/2.8 • 1/1000 • ISO100 • Canon R6 & RF24-70/2.8L •}

Tavil Drummer, Colombo #2

Mayurapathi Sri Badrakali Kovil Ther festival. Havelock Town, July 2023. A common sight at Hindu ceremonies in Sri Lanka, the South Indian tavil drum is made of wood and goatskin, and is played, like the dawla drum of Buddhist rituals, with a single drumstick on one side and an open hand on the other.

^{• 43mm • f/2.8 • 1/400 • ISO200 • Canon R6 & RF24-70/2.8L •}

Family Business

Jasmine and other flowers are strung into garlands, in a roadside stall, to supply the steady stream of devotees visiting the shrines, churches, and temples of Kochchikade, in Colombo. September 2023. Flower garlands play a significant part in Tamil culture; used to bedeck the likenesses of deities and saints in worship ceremonies, as a sign of blessing during a wedding, and as a symbolic form of welcome to an honoured guest. As in the picture, the stringing itself is done most often by men.

^{• 35mm • f/4 • 1/60 • ISO320 • Canon R6 & RF14-35/4L •}

Waiting for the Gods

Incense-bearing Hindu women await the chariot carrying their favourite deity in procession. Mayurapathy Sri Bathrakali Kovil ‘Ther’ festival. High Level Road, Havelock Town, Colombo. July 2023.

^{• 70mm • f/2.8 • 1/1000 • ISO160 • Canon R6 & RF24-70/2.8L •}

Tavil Drummer, Colombo

Mayurapathi Sri Badrakali Kovil Ther festival. Havelock Town, July 2023. A common sight at Hindu ceremonies in Sri Lanka, the South Indian tavil drum is made of wood and goatskin, and is played, like the dawla drum of Buddhist rituals, with a single drumstick on one side and an open hand on the other.

^{• 70mm • f/2.8 • 1/100 • ISO500 • Canon R6 & RF24-70/2.8L •}

Hewisi Pooja, Temple of the Tooth, Kandy #4

A thammettama drummer plays during a musical ceremony on the lower floor of the temple’s main shrine. The twin thammettama are traditional Sri Lankan drums, played with curved sticks called kadippuwa, in Sinhalese. Hewisi is a form of religious music once reserved for use by Kandyan royal decree. Today, hewisi is still used almost exclusively in Buddhist ceremonies, and is seen as an offering in itself. Shot on assignment for The New York Times in December 2018.

^{• 105mm • f/4 • 1/30 • ISO1000 •}