Fifty Bengali widows from Vrindavan, forgotten and neglected by their families, have been brought to Kolkata by an NGO for West Bengal's biggest festival.
The Durga Pujas officially begin on October 10, but celebrations have already started on the streets of Kolkata. And participating in the festivity is a very unusual group of tourists.
Fifty Bengali widows from Vrindavan, forgotten and neglected by their families, have been brought to Kolkata by an NGO for West Bengal's biggest festival. Like Goddess Durga, it is an emotional homecoming for them indeed.
Some haven't seen the Durga Pujas in Kolkata for 10 years, others for as much as 35. After years, they are in Kolkata for a trip down the memory lane and the
darshan of Goddess Durga.
"I have been in Vrindavan for 20 years. Now, after 21 years I have returned to Bengal for the Durga Pujas, to meet people like you. I am so happy. I have come share happiness," says a smiling Manu Ghosh.
Lalita Adhikari, who is believed to be 107 years old, recently had her eyes operated upon and her fading vision restored. She is back in Kolkata for the Pujas for the first time in 35 years and her delight knows no bounds. "It is all wonderful. I haven't been out of the ashram for so many years, I haven't seen anything. It all seems wonderful," she says.
The NGO, Sulabh International, has been taking care of 900 Vrindavan widows since last June after a Supreme Court order. Sulabh has been paying the widows a stipend of Rs 2000 per month, training them in crafts like agarbatti making.
Sulabh's founder-director Dr Bindeswar Pathak felt bringing these widows for the Durga Pujas in Kolkata was the best way to begin to end their ostracisation.
"It is surprising that the society that respects its mothers and sisters so much, worships them as Shakti, and yet neglects the widows. What has happened, however, is past. I want the people of this state to give the women the respect they deserve and don't force them to leave the state," he says.
The Vrindavan widows, who are hopping from one
puja pandal to the other, landed a bonus when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came to inaugurate a pandal and handed each woman a saree as puja gift. She had specially made time to meet them.
The Durga Puja is all about Goddess Durga coming home for a holiday. What a wonderful time for the beautiful widows of Vrindavan to also come home to Kolkata.