Vrindavan widows celebrate Diwali

Vrindavan: Around 1,000 elderly Vrindavan widows started a two-day Diwali celebration on Tuesday on the bank of river Yamuna and five of their ashrams here.

The widows decorated their ashrams with rangoli and lights, and carried a procession with earthen lamps on the river bank, congregating at KC Ghat here.

The ashrams, where Sulabh International provides assistance, have been spruced up to match the occasion.

"With an aim to bring a ray of happiness in their lives, we have come up with this unique idea to organise the festival of lights, especially for the widows," the social reformer and founder of Sulabh, Bindeshwar Pathak, said.

This is the third year in a row that the event is being organised by the Sulabh, which has also been organising festivals like Holi for them and has arranged visits for them to West Bengal and Delhi during Dussehra.

The organisation has been playing a leading role in adding mirth to the lives of the widows by organising other functions for them from time to time, Pathak said.

On a routine basis, Sulabh provides them medical facilities and vocational training besides meeting their day-to-day needs, he said.

In the wake of Supreme Court's directives, Sulabh takes care of around 1,000 widows living in various ashrams in Vrindavan.