The widows who were thrown out of their homes by their sons or family members and left to die in Vrindavan had taken out broad-sheet newspapers in Bengali to give wings to their imagination.
Vrindavan Khaber, Chaitanya Jagran, lilakunj Khabar and Radha Vani - are the four hand-written newspapers that were brought out by 25 widows. They themselves clicked the pictures, wrote stories and put them on display in the lanes of Vrindavan on Tuesday as a mark of their empowerment.
These widows attended a seven-day workshop organised by an NGO Sulabh International. Initially they were taught how to click photographs. Once they learnt the basic they were told how to write stories.
They wrote stories on big chart papers. They placed pictures of the lanes of Vrindavan that they have clicked themselves and brought out newspaper with the help of Delhi-based photographers and media professionals. As majority hails from West Bengal, they preferred to write their articles in Bangla.
Sulabh founder Dr Bindeshwar Pathak said it was a unique initiative to boost the morale of these widows of Vrindavan. "Such an initiative will bring happiness to the lives of the widows. We’ll organise many such programmes for them in near future," he said.
Breaking several established traditions, Sulabh International helped widows bathe in the Sangam at Allahabad this year and later organized a visit of the widows to Kolkata to participate in Durga Puja celebrations. The widows also celebrated Diwali, Holi and Raksha Bandhan.
Every widow is given Rs 2,000 per month by the NGO which takes care of their health and other needs.