the group picture....

May 10, 2002

the woman in the group picture - is she a 'widow' or a 'destitute' or

a renunciate' who believes in simplicity.

but in any case, the expression in her eyes says a lot about her

condition.... She is longing for something - there is a 'faraway'

look.... is she looking for love? physical comforts? solace? it is

hard to telll ! but one thing is for sure. She soes not look affluent-

in fact, her appearance indicates she is a 'widow' -most widows in

india wear 'white' sarees and wear no ornaments like earrings,

bangles and necklaces- in fact, they are supposed to make themselves

so physically unattractive that there are no 'sexual' demands on

them...

this picture has made me think... those eyes have a 'haunted'

look ....

..

last night, i was surfing on the web and accessed many sites that

decribed the 'plight of widows' in india...

here is one that is interesting ....

folks, this is a very sensitive subject- there are more than 33

million widows in india. some of them are leading a life of 'neglect'

and are in utter 'poverty' - most of them are thrown out of their

houses by ungrateful relatives and end up in Brindavan now renamed

as "city of widows."

recently, a famous film director deepa mehta (who made the

film "fire" ) was in the city of benaras trying to film 'WATER' -A

STORY BASED ON the plight of hindu widows . she met with a lot of

opposition from the government as the story theme involved lot of

controversial aspects like 'incest' and 'sexual explotation of hindu

widows' etc.... i do not if the film has been released but when i was

in benaras i did see some scenes being shot - and the leading lady

shabana azmi (who had to shave her head for the role?) looked EVERY

INCH THE PART- !

but seriously, folks - this group picture should make us think....

there are lot of women out there specially in third world countries-

who are dstitutes and widows etc..and their hands are reaching out

for help- their eyes are crying out for help...

YES, WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK? mother's day is approaching...post your

thoughts...

love

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