City of Widows
by Jonathan
Bjerg Møller
For
generations, the holy city of Vrindavan in Northern India has been home to beggars
and especially widows. The dusty town, 150 km south of Delhi, is rumoured to
hold more than 5,000 temples and according to the Hindu scriptures it was where
the god Krishna spent his youth.
This
page
Piramila Shah is 85 and deeply religious. She was 16 when she was widowed. Her
husband died of Hepatitis. She is from West. Bengal. She worked much of her
life as a housemaid or cleaner while living with families and. She came to Vrindavan
25 years ago. Her family was all dead and she was getting old and was unable
to take care of herself. She came to Vrindavan to survive on charity until she
dies.
The
holy city is also home to thousands of widows who survive on the charity of
temples and pilgrims. Everyday, hundreds crowd into temples to pray. Hour after
hour, the women chant “Hare Rama, Hare Krishna.” Most widows spend
eight hours a day chanting. In return they are given a hot meal, or a handful
of uncooked rice and a few rupees.
