From the archive record
Aarti also spelled arathi, aarthi (from the Sanskrit term Aaraatrik) is a Hindu religious ritual of worship, a form of puja, in which light from wicks soaked in ghee (purified butter) or camphor is offered to one or more deities. Aarti is generally performed one to five times daily, and usually at the end of a puja (in South India) or bhajan session (in North India). The purpose of performing aarti is the waving of lighted wicks before the deities in a spirit of humility and gratitude. It symbolises the five elements: 1) ether (akash), 2) wind (vayu), 3) fire (agni), 4) water (jal), and 5) earth (pruthvi). This footage is part of the professionally-shot stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collec