Widows living in various ashrams of Vrindavan are eagerly looking forward to sending rakhi and Vrindavan-themed masks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to mark the festival of Raksha Bandhan this year.
Till last year, some widows from Vrindavan used to visit the prime minister’s residence in Delhi to tie rakhi to him on Raksha Bandhan. But this year they will not meet the prime minister due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Though the widows would miss the opportunity of meeting Modi during this Raksha Bandhan , they have prepared 501 special rakhis with images of Modi and a similar quantity of special Vrindavan-themed face masks which are being sent to him.
These rakhis containing colourful photos of Modi have been prepared by a group of aged widows living in Maa Sharda and Meera Sagabhagini ashrams.
With the aim to break the social stigma, well known social reformer and founder of Sulabh Movement, Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, had started organising all important Hindu rituals for widows living in Vrindavan .
Raksha Bandhan is among them but no such programme is possible this time due to COVID-19 crisis.
“The ongoing coronavirus crisis disheartened these widows but it didn’t shatter their spirit so they started preparing rakhis and special Vrindavan-themed masks for Modi. Some of the rakhis contain photos of the prime minister with covered faces,” said Vinita Verma, vice-president of Sulabh Hope Foundation.
