Holi 2023: Widows To Celebrate Holi At Vrindavan Temple, A Tale of Bitter-Sweet Celebrations

Widows from the various shleter homes gather at the Gopinath Temple in Vrindavan to celebrate the lasting colours of Holi since 2013. Here are all teh details about this bitter sweet celebration.

Holi Vrindavan: On March 6, in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, hundreds of widows will celebrate the festival of colours. One of the city's seven temples, Radha Gopinath Temple, will host a Holi celebration there. Officials claim that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a two-year delay in the celebration at the historic temple, which first started in 2013.

 The majority of the widows who live in Vrindavan are said to be from West Bengal. The majority of these widows are living in terrible conditions without access to adequate nutrition, healthcare, or hygiene facilities.

In 2017, the Supreme Court has taken cognisance of the issue of widows living in Vrindavan and ordered the central and the Uttar Pradesh government to take "all steps to rehabilitate the widows of Vrindavan.

The Supreme Court then directed NGO Sulabh International to take care of widows living in Vrindavan nearly ten years ago after noticing their miserable conditions.

Widows in Vrindavan are compelled to live a life of loneliness, despair, and poverty. Vrindavan widows travel here in search of peace and salvation.

The vice-president of social organisation Sulabh International said, "Hundreds of destitute and widowed mothers living in shelter homes of Vrindavan will celebrate the Sevayat Gopinathlal Dev Goswami of Radha Gopinath temple said preparations for Holi have started in the temple. Gulal and colours have been brought in from Delhi along with a ton of different types of flowers."

Most of the widows joining this celebration are elderly and are more than happy to welcome change and happiness with open arms after leading years of monotonous life thanks to oppressive and conservative notions.

In white yet colourful sarees, widows in Vrindavan get a sense of belongingness when applying colours at the feet of the Lord Krishna statue, showering flower petals on each other, singing Rasiya (traditional Holi song of Brij) with faces smeared in 'gulal' and chanted Krishna bhajans.

These celebrations give a toss to orthodox traditions that forbid 
widows from taking part in the festival of colours and staying away from celebrations altogether.

(With PTI inputs)