Vidhwa Sahay Ashram, Vrindavan : the sacred landscape of bereavement

Abstract

‘After the death of my husband, my children forced me to leave the house. I was thrown out with no clothes to even cover my body. People told me to go to Vrindavan as now only Lord Krishna can save me from the world’. Here, I wait for death everyday so that I get some relief’, This is the common story of widows found on the streets of Vrindavan, Widow , an ostracised section of society faces a lot of hardships after the death of her husband. There are many traditional and harsh customs still prevalent in our society. For them, every new day is another day less to achieving Moksha. Widows, old or young share a common loss, a loss of respect and dignity from the family and the society. They remain in the mourning phase for the rest of their lives. Vrindavan is a home to about some 15000 widows with 78% of most of them from West Bengal. Even in the sacred land of Krishna Janambhoomi, they are constantly being exploited for their works by the pandits and other community of Vrindavan. I, through my thesis would like to form a design framework, which not only improves their physical need but also heals them mentally and emotionally. Creating a Vidhwa Sahay ashram, a place where Moksha is achieving freedom, becoming independent and regaining the ones loss respect back from the society. Through various tangible and intangible approaches, the thesis involves designing spaces that would cater 350 widows in empowering them and helping them regain their status in the society through various paths. Vidhwa Sahay Ashram would act as an outlet for their pent up emotions, providing them support in their mourning phase.