Breaking Norms, Widows Sashay Ramp At Fashion Show 

New Delhi: Decked up in a lehnga-choli and wearing a bright make up, a nonagenarian sashayed down the ramp using a walking stick, as she marked a departure from age-old traditions that expect widows like her to renounce earthly pleasures.

Her catwalk was part of a fashion show for widows organised on Saturday by NGO Sulabh International in which nearly 400 widows from Vrindavan and Varanasi as well as Deoli Brahmgram near Kedarnath, also known as the Village of Widows after the floods in Uttarakhand, took part.

Her friend Kusum, who has accompanied her from Vrindavan, donned a coloured saree for the first time since she lost her husband about two decades ago.

An 85-year-old with a tonsured head, too, echoed the same sentiment, adding that the pink lipstick she wore made her uncomfortable. Of Nepali-origin, she was married at the age of 14 and lost her husband the following year. She has been in Vrindavan for the past 14-15 years.

The event was inaugurated by Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi, who also released two of Pathak's books. The books are titled Widows in India: Study of Varanasi and Vrindavan and Supreme Court of India & Widows of Vrindavan.

Speaking about the show, Pathak, founder of Sulabh International, said, We have turned a new chapter today.

PTI