Widows play Holi inside temple for first time

Widows in Vrindavan erected another milestone on Monday when they played Holi inside the Gopinath temple of Lord Krishna.

This is the first time that Holi has been played inside the temple by widows form Vrindavan as well as Varanasi.

A number of Sanskrit students and pundits also took part in the Holi celebration with the widows living in the temple town.

Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, well-known social reformer and founder of Sulabh International, said that this was an attempt to bring widows closer to the social mainstream.

Sulabh International, since the past three years, has been making widows participate actively in all Hindu festivals.

Sulabh started taking care of around 1,500 widows in Vrindavan and Varanasi since 2012. It has been organising Holi and other festivals for them.

Vrindavan is traditionally known as the “City of Widows” for the sheer number of women who find shelter there after being shunned by their families. Most of them hail from West Bengal and Bihar.