Widows in Vrindavan find more comfort on streets than back home

Widows living in the Braj area (Vrindavan, Radhakund, Govardhan, Gokul and Barsana) of Uttar Pradesh do not mind living in ashrams or on roads here than returning to their villages.

They prefer the treatment given to them here in the name of tradition and culture to the restrictions and discrimination back home.

A study conducted on the widows living in the ashrams and streets of Braj area indicated that modern life, changing culture and traditions seem to be suiting the widows, which is why despite having problems of shelter, sanitation, health and pension most of them do not wish to return home.

A large number of widows often migrate to live in the Braj area, mainly Vrindavan. There are roughly 20,000 widows living on the streets and ashrams of this area, many of them abandoned by their families after the death of their husband. They often get a meal in exchange for singing bhajans in ashrams. Many beg for a living.

The study conducted by Guild for Service, an NGO that helps deprived women and children with support from United Nations Development Fund for Women, found that the modern-day widows in the Braj area seem to be veering away from traditional beliefs on how widows should live, what they should wear and eat.

Today, most widows are able to enter temples and some even attend auspicious ceremonies, something that was denied to them back home. Now these widows do not believe in tonsuring and some young women are even open to the idea of remarriage.

“In fact, one of the widows used the internet and “Googled” her way to an ashram in Vrindavan,” the study said.

However, they had their fears and apprehensions: 78% of the widows — young and old — were afraid of sexual harassment while 63% feared they would not get “moksh” (salvation). They were also wary of falling sick since there was no one to take care, not getting a proper cremation, and of being homeless and hungry.

It was found that although widows got money from multiple sources like bhajan ashrams, charity, pension, domestic work, tailoring and candle making, the money wasn’t sufficient for survival. Often these widows were financially in a pitiable condition and majority of them (83%) earned between Rs200 to Rs1000 a month. There was often little or no financial support from their families.

Interestingly, whatever money the widows got, they spent most of it on food, medicine, rent, clothes, travel and pooja. Shelter was a cause for worry with approximately one-third of them living in the open —  on streets, ghats, railway stations and bus stops. Sanitation, too, caused concern as about two-fifth said they had no access to toilets. About 40% squatted in open fields.

Although 70% of the women had heard of the destitute widow’s pension scheme, only a quarter of them received the pension. Some had applied for pension but hadn’t received it yet. Three-fifth (58%) had not yet applied for a pension because they didn’t know about the plan, didn’t know how to apply for a pension (82%) and didn’t know who to bribe or approach for pension. “In fact, it seemed easier to get ration cards and voters cards than a pension,” the study observed. The UP government, however, states on its website that over 21,000 widows in Mathura district were getting pension.

The study found that 66% of widows were married before they reached the age of 15, about 26% were married between 15-17 and only 5.5% were above the 18 at the time of marriage.