Vrindavan is supposed to be one of the holiest cities in India, but unfortunately it has a dark side which most of us prefer to overlook.

The city is not only know for it’s spiritual and religious importance, it is also known as the “City of Widows”.

While most of us love our mothers and are concerned about their well-being, however there is a small percentage of children who prefer to disown their mothers and throw them on the roads.

A walk down the streets of Vrindavan is witness to thousands of homeless elderly widows. 

Elderly women dressed in white clothes and either begging or singing religious songs used to be a common sight in the city. Luckily this trend is changing and many of them are slowly reuniting with their families.

The estimated number of elderly widows in Vrindavan are in thousands however a realistic estimate should be 3000-5000.

Most of the elderly widows came from the states of West Bengal, Assam and Odisha. They came to Vrindavan a few decades ago and today many of them are in their 70s-80s.

Most of the elderly widows were conveniently either thrown out of their homes or were convinced by their children and family into leaving their house to go to Vrindavan in the ‘name of God’.

No one knows why so many widows had started going to Vrindavan but it has been going on for centuries. Unfortunately the mindset of India was different in that era which was not very women centric.

India is home to nearly 55 million widows, most of whom live in terrible conditions. Luckily the state government, NGOs and temple management have been doing some good work in supporting the elderly widows.

Since it is the festival season and most of us would be celebrating with our families, but then we should not forget that there are thousands of elderly women who may not be so lucky to enjoy any family celebrations or reunions.

I only hope that may this Durga Puja bring some relief and a sense of closure to our country’s grandmothers.

Pankaj Mehrotra