Devotees gather around a rug adorned with colourful fruit, vegetables. flowers and candles. As prayers are intoned by the priest a small fire is lit.
The air is sweet with incense and flower petals ready to be thrown. The sounds of soft drumming and chanting mingle with incantations as the sacred fire ceremony begins.
The vedic fire ceremony, known as bhoomi pooja, marks the start of constructing the long awaited £5m Hare Krishna Centre in Cardiff Bay. Bhumi pooja, the practice of offering prayers and blessing the ground before construction starts, is the spiritual version of a ground breaking ceremony for the Krishna community.
