Exploring the Politics of Widowhood in Vrindavan: An Analysis of Life Narratives of Vrindavan Widows

Abstract

The experience of Hindu widowhood in the Indian context constitutes social exclusion and marginalization of the woman who has lost her husband. The practice, which is the product of intersection of Indian patriarchy with the Hindu caste system, aims at total obliteration of the widow and rendering her invisible. The widow who is already in a precarious position due to adverse socio-economic and cultural ramifications of being a woman in the Indian society is pushed further to the margins. Her only recourse to means of dignified survival is to conform to the norms of Hindu widowhood that entail curtailment of freedoms associated with dress code, diet, social relationships and sexual conduct. The present paper intends to shed light on the workings of widowhood phenomenon in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, a revered place due to its prominence in Hinduism. A life of religiosity in Vrindavan offers itself as a viable option for widows’ subsistence. Vrindavan, in turn, benefits from the presence of widows. The dynamics of the interrelationship between the spiritual economy of Vrindavan and life of widows is explored to shed light on the negotiations that widows undertake on a day-to-day basis to further their existence. Life narratives of widows are analyzed to shed light on the bargains that they undertake to become and survive as a Vrindavan widow.