Photos: In Varanasi, widows prepare 1000 rakhis for PM Modi
In a unique gesture, widows of Varanasi will send 1,000 Rakhis and sweets to the Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi. Here are the photos.
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In a unique gesture, widows of Varanasi will send 1,000 Rakhis and sweets to the Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi. Around a dozen widows, mostly in their 80s, are engaged in making colourful Rakhis in Birla and Durgakund Ashram. Naresh Sharma/ Firstpost
One of the rakhis made by the widows. A group of elderly widows from Nepal living in ashrams are also engaged in Rakhi making. They started Rakhi making in the last week of July and have so far prepared around 500 such sacred wrist bands. Naresh Sharma/ Firstpost
In places like Varanasi and Vrindavan, hundreds of widows lead an isolated life to attain ‘moksha’ or liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth. Living in small rooms in narrow alleys, they spend most of their time praying and looking for food, in absence of family support. They are seen as inauspicious. Naresh Sharma/ Firstpost
Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, Founder of Sulabh International who takes care of around 1,500 widows in Varanasi, Vrindavan and Kedarnath valley, said the idea behind this initiative is to change the attitude towards widows. Dr Pathak, himself a social reformer, observed that such an initiative will bring cheers to their lives. Naresh Sharma/ Firstpost