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Despite being a group of over 46 million women, widows in India remain one of the most stigmatized, neglected and marginalized groups. City of Widows explores this tragic issue by showing one woman’s, Hari Dasi, emotional journey into widowhood.
Through the lens of Hari Dasi, an elderly widow, we experience her tragic life and that of so many widows in India—being married off as a child at the young age of 11, becoming a widower as a young woman, then being cast away into a purposeless existence; disowned by her family, shunned by her culture and stripped of all her earthly freedoms. Forced to wear white to signify to the world her fate, a life devoid of color. Now alone in the world, Hari Dasi makes her way to Vrindivan. Known as The City of Widows, Vrindivan is home to over 10,000 widows who, like our heroine, have nowhere else to turn. Here, we follow Hari Dasi into old age as she ekes out a living and finds solace amongst a community of fellow widowers. These widows must do strenuous work each day and are expected to chant for hours in order to receive small rations of food. Barely a life.
Yet, a small group of widows violated a 400-year-old Hindu tradition by taking part in Holi, the sacred festival of colors. Celebrating Holi, alongside Hari Dasi and many other rebel widows, we see a transformation in these women – a glimpse of hope – as they finally experience some sense of bliss and purpose, if for only mere moments, as they break free from their grim reality of living on the fringe. Now, with the number of rebel widows on the rise, centuries-old shackles are being broken in the hopes of forging a new path for future generations of women who bear the simple misfortune of outliving their husbands.
Directed by Lacey Uhlemeyer (USA)