In a first, Vrindavan widows play with colours on Holi

By Amit Bhattacharya

TNN | Mar 16, 2014

VRINDAVAN: The long-ostracized widows of Vrindavan played Holi with gulal and buckets of coloured water on Friday, in a cathartic celebration that snubbed tradition which bids them to stay away from festivities.

Last year, these women had taken the first step to reclaim their place in the mainstream when they played Holi with flowers and songs in a much-applauded event that also drew criticism in certain conservative quarters.

On Friday, the widows went a step ahead. Pichkaaris (water guns) and gulal (coloured powder) were out in force at the Ras Behari Sadan and Leela Kunj, two adjacent widow homes in the heart of the temple town. The women — many defiantly wearing colourful sarees — were in no mood to hold back. They smeared each other and the guests with gulal and danced in the ashram courtyard as buckets of coloured water were poured on them from above.Read more....