In India's patriarchal society, being a woman doesn't provide for an easy life. All kinds of vexations weigh hard on women, even as little girls. The most nourishing food, medical care, fun, and rest are reserved for the men. A little boy is like insurance on the parents' future: Once he gets married, he will stay with them in the family house, bringing in the help of his bride who will take care of them in their elder years.
An even harder agony is to become a widow. According to Hindu sacred texts, a woman has no value without a man at her side, including her father or brother when she is just a little girl, and her husband later. Among some Hindus, a widow is not only often believed to cast bad luck over the whole family, but even to be the true cause of the husband's departure. She is therefore stripped of all her properties and human dignity. She has to live in poverty, treasuring her husband's memory for the rest of her time, as she won't be allowed to marry anymore.
An estimated 40 million widows can be found in today's India, and the highest concentration of them, currently around 20,000, is in the holy city of Vrindavan. Most of them came a long way from Western Bengala and Bangladesh, to show their love to Krishna in the town where the God is believed to be born. In the crowded city's Ashrams they raise their perpetual psalms, the bhajam, in exchange for rice, bread, and a few rupees. Their meager daily earnings are not enough to buy them better food, and barely covers the rent for their small and damp rooms.
Neglected, malnourished and exposed to sexually transmitted diseases, diarrhea and tuberculosis, they sleep in over crowded ashrams, the biggest of them hosting 2,000 widows. The unluckiest of them find no place and are left begging in the streets in front of the 4,000 temples of Vrindavan. Some have small children to take care of; others look after the sick and older ones. Many regret not having died along with their husbands, instead of having to endure such a daily humiliation.
— Massimiliano Clausi
Editor's note: I discovered the work of Massimiliano Clausi while judging the entries for the 2010 Anthropographia Awards for Human Rights and Photography. Massimiliano's project was one of several that made quite an impact on me, so I am very happy to be able to present it here in Lens Culture.
— Jim Casper
FeatureWomen of VrindavanMassimiliano Clausi reports on the harsh lives of 20,000 widows in the holy city of Vrindavan, India.Photographs and text by Massimiliano ClausiView Images
Feature
Women of Vrindavan
Massimiliano Clausi reports on the harsh lives of 20,000 widows in the holy city of Vrindavan, India.
Photographs and text by Massimiliano Clausi
Women of Vrindavan
Massimiliano Clausi reports on the harsh lives of 20,000 widows in the holy city of Vrindavan, India.
Vrindavan, India, 2009 - An abandoned married woman and a widow in a government shelter for destitute ladies in Vrindavan. Married women are recognizable from the red saree, widows wear white vests, the symbol of their mourning. © Massimiliano Clausi/POSSE Photographers
Vrindavan, India, 2009 - Each and every day this Ashram is crowded with widows singing their psalms in honour of Lord Krishna. © Massimiliano Clausi/POSSE Photographers
Vrindavan, India, 2009 - The blackboard where daily figures of widows in the Ashram are noted down. © Massimiliano Clausi/POSSE Photographers
Vrindavan, India, 2009 - Widows leaving the Ashram wearing the traditional white dress. In India, white is the traditional color of mourning. © Massimiliano Clausi/POSSE Photographers
Vrindavan, India, 2009 - Widows in Vrindavan devote the rest of their lives to repetitive rituals and hymns, following the Hindu sacred books' directions. © Massimiliano Clausi/POSSE Photographers
Vrindavan, India, 2009 - An internal courtyard in one the many Ashrams of Vrindavan where the widows spend most of their time. © Massimiliano Clausi/POSSE Photographers
Vrindavan, India, 2009 - The residence shelters women of every age. © Massimiliano Clausi/POSSE Photographers
Vrindavan, India, 2009 - One of the ladies who used to live on the streets for years, keeps packing her belongings every morning as if she is expecting to be forced to leave at any time. © Massimiliano Clausi/POSSE Photographers
Vrindavan, India, 2009 - A physically challenged widow sits on her sticks during a religious ritual. © Massimiliano Clausi/POSSE Photographers
Vrindavan, India, 2009 - A daily life scene in a government-run safe home for widows. Although the local administration provides for the pension, accommodation and food to which destitute widows are entitled, very few of them can take advantage of these, and living conditions still remain difficult for most. © Massimiliano Clausi/POSSE Photographers
Vrindavan, India, 2009 - The widows are payed six rupies a day (12 cents USD) for singing in the Ashrams. With that money they'll have to buy food and pay for their accommodation. © Massimiliano Clausi/POSSE Photographers
Vrindavan, India, 2009 - The Yamuna river, one of the seven sacred rivers according to the Hindus, runs through the city gathering pilgrims from all over the country. © Massimiliano Clausi/POSSE Photographers
