Kalpesh Lathigra // PHOTOGRAPHY / Brides of Krishna
Vrindavan has a population of over 3000 widows living in the city. In some ways it has become a place of sanctuary, yet a more sinister tale of corruption and greed lies just below the surface. The women live in appalling conditions. The tiny rooms that they live in have no sanitation, electricity or water. There are instances of 8-10 women sharing a room. Landlords demand exorbitant deposits for renting out the rooms. Each day at dawn, widows make their way to one of the 4000 Hindu temples and Bhajan Ashrams, where they chant for eight hours to the Hindu deity Krishna. The ashrams receive large donations from the rich Hindus hoping to receive blessing from the gods. The widows are employed to chant mantras on the donor’s behalf. For doing this in the name of charity, they receive 10 rupees and a cup of rice. The money they earn through chanting and begging pays for the bare minimum of accommodation and food.
In many ways the widows have become slaves to the ashrams without which they have no real way to survive economically or by means of a mutual support structure amongst the widow community. The population of the town see the widows as a burden upon their business of faith, whilst others see them as something to exploit either financially or sexually. The health of the women decorates the longer they spend in the city and in contrast to the promise of a peaceful place to spend the remaining years of their lives, they live in fear and deprivation.
In this project, Lathigra explores the ideas of Motherhood, Family and Religion. What makes children; extended family and society abandon their mothers to a life without dignity, love and a struggle for daily life.
