The Widows of Varanasi

In India, hundreds of widows populate the city of Varanasi--most live in charity homes. Many are homeless. They are left in this holyHindu city after their husbands are cremated on the Ganges River. They exist in the shadows of daily life--going unnoticed--and are expected to devote the remainder of their lives to the memory of their husbands, without whom, according to their traditions, life loses meaning. (September 2005)