VRINDAVAN: They sang and danced, laughed and shed tears. They threw flowers at each other and played with gulal. The widows of Vrindavan celebrated Holi with a riot of colours on Sunday, defying tradition that bids them to stay away from festivities of all kind.
These widows of the holy town — tragic icons of institutionalized oppression against women — have been observing Holi for decades. But it had always been a quiet affair, within the confines of their ashrams. They would enact scenes from Krishna's 'Raas leela', shower each other with flowers and occasionally use a bit of gulal.
"We would watch men and women play Holi from the windows of our ashram. The celebrations of the town are legendary," said Pushpa Adhikari, a widow from Bengal, who came to Vrindavan 17 years ago.
On Sunday, though, the widows came out in the open with a cathartic celebration in front of reporters from across the world. They played 'Raas leela' in new clothes and danced to traditional Holi songs amid a shower of flowers and colour.
'A special day'
"It's a Holi of hope. The message that goes out from the celebration is that widows want to be part of the mainstream. They too have aspirations that should be fulfilled," said Bindeshwar Pathak, head of Sulabh International, which organized the event.
Sulabh was mandated by the Supreme Court last August to work among widows of the holy town to ameliorate their suffering and check the practice of begging. It began by distributing a stipend of Rs 1,000 per month (which was last month raised to Rs 2,000), providing medical facilities, teaching them to read and write and giving providing means to earn a living.
The task, however, is enormous. Sulabh's help reaches around 700 of the women, those who stay at the five government-run ashrams in the Vrindavan. There is no clear estimate of the total number of widows in the town, but it is believed that a majority live in rented accommodation, sharing a single room with many others.
An NCW sample survey in 2009 found that 89% of Vrindavan widows were illiterate. Most had children or relatives, who refused to take care of them. Around 70% received no pension and almost 60% had no ration cards, forcing them to depend on alms and singing bhajan to survive.
That change would come slowly was evident at Sunday's Holi celebrations held at the Meera Sehbhagini Mahila Ashram. Most other widows, who live in government ashrams and have started receiving the Rs 2,000 stipend, sat quietly through the festivities.
Many of them have ailments that aren't getting proper treatment or attention. Javitri Tomar, a former resident of Kolkata who has a damaged leg, said the ashram officials wanted money to provide her with a wheelchair.
Lakkhi Patra, another ashram inmate from Bengal, said the diabetes medicine given to her by a doctor did not have any effect. She had to bring her stock of medicines from Bengal.
But even the women who sat through the Holi function admitted that the day was special. "When Lal Bahadur Shastri came to Calcutta, the streets were full of flowers. After that day, I'm seeing so many flowers for the first time," said a woman sitting in a chair away from the action.
These widows of the holy town — tragic icons of institutionalized oppression against women — have been observing Holi for decades. But it had always been a quiet affair, within the confines of their ashrams. They would enact scenes from Krishna's 'Raas leela', shower each other with flowers and occasionally use a bit of gulal.
"We would watch men and women play Holi from the windows of our ashram. The celebrations of the town are legendary," said Pushpa Adhikari, a widow from Bengal, who came to Vrindavan 17 years ago.
On Sunday, though, the widows came out in the open with a cathartic celebration in front of reporters from across the world. They played 'Raas leela' in new clothes and danced to traditional Holi songs amid a shower of flowers and colour.
'A special day'
"It's a Holi of hope. The message that goes out from the celebration is that widows want to be part of the mainstream. They too have aspirations that should be fulfilled," said Bindeshwar Pathak, head of Sulabh International, which organized the event.
Sulabh was mandated by the Supreme Court last August to work among widows of the holy town to ameliorate their suffering and check the practice of begging. It began by distributing a stipend of Rs 1,000 per month (which was last month raised to Rs 2,000), providing medical facilities, teaching them to read and write and giving providing means to earn a living.
The task, however, is enormous. Sulabh's help reaches around 700 of the women, those who stay at the five government-run ashrams in the Vrindavan. There is no clear estimate of the total number of widows in the town, but it is believed that a majority live in rented accommodation, sharing a single room with many others.
An NCW sample survey in 2009 found that 89% of Vrindavan widows were illiterate. Most had children or relatives, who refused to take care of them. Around 70% received no pension and almost 60% had no ration cards, forcing them to depend on alms and singing bhajan to survive.
That change would come slowly was evident at Sunday's Holi celebrations held at the Meera Sehbhagini Mahila Ashram. Most other widows, who live in government ashrams and have started receiving the Rs 2,000 stipend, sat quietly through the festivities.
Many of them have ailments that aren't getting proper treatment or attention. Javitri Tomar, a former resident of Kolkata who has a damaged leg, said the ashram officials wanted money to provide her with a wheelchair.
Lakkhi Patra, another ashram inmate from Bengal, said the diabetes medicine given to her by a doctor did not have any effect. She had to bring her stock of medicines from Bengal.
But even the women who sat through the Holi function admitted that the day was special. "When Lal Bahadur Shastri came to Calcutta, the streets were full of flowers. After that day, I'm seeing so many flowers for the first time," said a woman sitting in a chair away from the action.
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