Homecoming for Vrindavan widows this Durga Puja

Shunned by their families after the death of their husbands, a group of 50 widows from West Bengal, all in their 80s and living in ashrams in Vrindavan, would participate in the Durga Puja celebrations in Kolkata this year. A similar number of widows had attended the Puja celebrations last year too.

“It is not just a Puja tour for them…It is a journey down the memory lane. Their trip to Kolkata is an effort to bring some joy and sense of belonging to their lives. They are going back to the land of their ancestors,” Bindeshwar Pathak, who has been working to rehabilitate widows, said.

Sulabh is looking after 1,000 Vrindavan widows as part of a SC directive to remove the stigma attached to their lives.