Varanasi, Feb 20 (IANS) It turned out to be a different and memorable Friday for hundreds of widows in this temple town as their white attire was smeared in different hues when they, for the first time, played holi on the banks of the holy Ganga river.
Breaking a centuries-old tradition that prohibited Hindu widows from any and everything that had to do with colour, hundreds of widows from five major shelter homes (ashrams) - the Nepali ashram, Birla widow home, Durga Kund ashram and from two ashrams in Sarnath, enjoyed the festival of colours, the organizers - Sulabh International, called 'Vasantotsava'.
Ageing women helped by young widows let their hair down and to the beat of the dholak and the majeera, danced and threw marigold petals on each other as some overzealous ones smeared each other with gulal (dry colour). Bindeshwari Pathak, founder of the sanitation NGO also played Holi with the widows and billed the event as "one of the happiest days of my life."
"Being part of and witnessing the breaking of the centuries-old tradition where merry making was out of bounds for the widows was a very satisfying and heartening experience," Pathak told IANS amidst the riot of colours at the recently excavated Assi Ghat.
The unique celebration was organised for the first time in Varanasi by the Sulabh International which takes care of thousands of widows in Varanasi, Vrindavan and Uttrakhand. Sulabh had organised Holi for the widows of Vrindavan two years ago which was seen as a path-breaking initiative to break the centuries-old barrier.
To mark the cleanness and restoration of Assi Ghat, Pathak also formally inaugurated boating operations from the Assi Ghat by welcoming widows in the presence of saints and Sanskrit scholars. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to his parliamentary constituency a few weeks back, Pathak had promised him that before Holi, the ghats would be made operational so much so that boating would be possible.
"We are happy that the Assi Ghat has been restored to its ancient glory and we have been able to keep our promise to Prime Minister Modi," Pathak added.
All the parties have geared up for the Lok Sabha elections. There is a tough competition between
With a focus on reforms and growth rate, India can achieve foreign direct investment (FDI) of $ 4
Amid increasing cases of Covid-19 in the country, the Union Health Ministry has said that despite
Arvind Kejriwal Coronavirus Test: Corona test of CM Arvind Kejriwal, report may come by evening
New Delhi, Jagran Correspondent. Arvind Kejriwal Coronavirus Test: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Ke
OnePlus phone is the most popular Android phone for its camera and other features. If you want to
Ayush (13) and Ahaan (6), two sons of contractor Vinod Thakur, were murdered by slitting their th
Uber has increased fares by 12% in Delhi-NCR. The company has said that it has taken this decisio
Politics: BSP MLAs meet Akhilesh Yadav, doubts about joining the party remain
There is talk of some MLAs of the Bahujan Samaj Party meeting the top leadership of SP on Tuesday
Workers living in the cities of Jharkhand will also get guaranteed employment for 100 days in a y
Google always celebrates some special days through Google Doodle. Today Google is celebrating Kit