Tag: india

He almost missed the hut. Navigating the capricious turns of hill roads, it is easy to miss those dust tracks that skulk away from the traffic. The path leading to the hut disappeared into long grasses and wild bushes almost as soon as it appeared. But still, Ashok noticed...

Sagorika kept the diary aside and heaved a sigh of relief. Her heart was in her mouth while reading about her mother’s love towards her lover. She felt relieved and grateful for her mother’s choice. It was getting late in the night, but she flipped to the next page...

The sun peeped out shyly from the eastern horizon, spraying its orange hue onto the deep purple sky. Roosters began crowing, and temple bells announced the early morning prayers. The 3000-year-old temple town of Varanasi was waking up to yet another day....

Some years have passed. Gokul Ashram has grown. It now occupies a new building. As Binodini enters the ashram compound in an auto rickshaw, the watchman salutes her. She has streaks of silver in her hair now. She is also wearing glasses. Walking through the corridor, she is the...

Binodini’s prayers were answered. A few weeks later, a woman named Durga came to meet Binodini all the way from Mathura. She ran an organization that trained women in martial arts. She urged Binodini to educate the members of her organization and train them in practical work skills. In...

Fresh beginnings.  As Binodini began her life in Vrindavan, she realized that life was not easy for the widows there. The city housed more than a lakh widows in its multiple ashrams, where living conditions were not ideal. Though the ashrams were run by various charitable trusts, the tenants...

Binodini’s life changed after marriage. She was now a daughter-in-law. She could no longer be the Binu that she had been in her natal home. Binodini had to constantly be conscious of her conduct. A year passed in getting accustomed to the norms of her new home, and soon...