Living Dead: Hindu Widows

They are "the outcast of the outcast": the Hindu widows. In the past, they used to end up in the pyre of their husband, but today the practice is forbidden by the Indian government. Upper-caste widows may not remarry, so many are abandoned by their families after the death of their husband in Vrindavan, "the City of the Widows", a pain ghetto on southern Delhi.

Even their abandonment and marginalization cost them money. In Vrindavan over 3,000 widows (out of 57,000 inhabitants) live, all wearing the white sari, the symbol of widowing in Hinduism. A Hindu widow must shave her head and wear the tika sign of the god Krishna on the forehead. (Delhi is the cradle of Krishna). Most of them have been rejected by their family; others were simply abandoned there.

The widows live in groups in ashrams (seclusions) and must sing bhajan hymns all day long, around 7-8 hours, for miserable food and 10 rupees (25 cents). A cup of dhal (lentils) is their daily diet. Malnutrition destroys their health, already affected by hardship.

They are forced to supplement their gain by begging on the street and even prostitution. They all pay the gurus responsible of the ashram for renting their rooms, where they crowd by dozens without water, light or electricity.

Some destinies can be extremely cruel. There are old women whose husband died whey they were 14 years old.

Still, today, finding a place to sleep is increasingly difficult. 15,000 to 20,000 widows are homeless and some have spent over 40 years in Vrindavan.

Thousands of Hindu families, especially from the Western Bengal, travel to Vrindavan to "release the burden" of their widows.

Some widows, the lucky ones, can have residences administrated by ONGs, but their number is under 1,000. They cannot wear the white sari and are taught how to work, receiving the attention of the voluntaries.

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