CHERISHED MOMENT FOR VRINDAVAN WIDOWS
LUCKNOW: It was a moment to cherish for Vrindavan widows who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and tied rakhis on his wrist at his official residence in New Delhi on Monday. “We made these rakhis especially for him (PM). We also invited him to come to Vrindavan,” said Binda Dasi, who went along with four other widows to the PM’s residence on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. “We also blessed him,” said another. Vasanti Dasi, Drupati Devi, Kusum Dasi and Sarijani Dasi also met the PM. During the visit, they were accompanied by vice president of Sulabh International Vinita Verma. The Sulabh International takes care of these widows at ashrams in Vrindavan and Varanasi. The widows in Vrindavan and Varanasi had prepared 1500 rakhis to be gifted to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The rakhis carrying colourful photographs of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi was prepared by groups of old widows. Hundreds of aged widows living in various ashrams also celebrated Rakhsha Bandhan at the historic Gopinath Temple in Vrindavan. “In the past few years these widows have started celebrating all the festivals such as Deepawali and Holi which otherwise was not allowed to them owing to age old traditions and beliefs. Now they celebrate every occasion of life as other do,” said Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of Sulabh International.
We made these rakhis especially for him (PM). We also invited him to come to Vrindavan BINDA DASI, one of the widows who tied rakhi on PM’s wrist