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Thousands of widows have been making their way to one particular town in the north of India. Cast out by their families， or simply alone in the world， some travel hundreds of miles to get there， and nobody quite knows why.
India is jam-packed with holy sites and 1）pilgrimage destinations. But few places are as closely associated with the 2）deity 3）Krishna as is Vrindavan， on the banks of the Yamuna， a few hours’drive south-east of 4）Delhi.
Here， in this temple-crammed town， the name of Krishna is on everyone’s lips along with the name of his childhood sweetheart， Radha.
Krishna， according to the great epic 5）Mahabharata， was born in the nearby forest and it was around here that the young fluteplaying 6）trickster flirted with the cow herders and enjoyed that love affair known to every 7）Hindu with the beautiful， divine Radha.
Radha and Krishna， the two names bound together forever， and in the minds of every pilgrim who arrives in town to walk the ritual circuit of temples and bathing ghats （steps leading down towards the water）.
But Vrindavan has its darker， less-loving side—it is known as “the city of widows”.
Spend a little while observing the pilgrims coming in and out of the temples and you see these widows—usually quite elderly women—dressed in simple white and often begging.
Widows in India no longer throw themselves on the funeral 8）pyres of their husbands. But life for them can still be hard.
Considered 9）inauspicious， many soon find they have lost their income and are 10）ostracised in their home villages. Some are sent away by their husbands’ families who want to prevent them inheriting money or property.
Nobody can quite explain why this particular town attracts widows from all around India—particularly， it seems， from Bengal.
There are as many as 6，000 of them in this place alone and more in the surrounding countryside.
Some come as genuine pilgrims to devote their remaining years to the service of Radha/Krishna， but many others come here to escape from brutal family homes or have been flung out by their sons and daughters-in-law as unwanted baggage.
This is one unusual aspect of Indian society that the government might prefer the outside world not to see， despite all their genuine efforts to solve the problem.
In a small temple， some of them are sitting cross-legged on the courtyard floor while young volunteers slosh out piles of rice and 11）dal. Sitting inside， people in a smaller group tell their stories.
Most had travelled here from West Bengal， for some a journey of over 1，000 miles （1，600km）—often by themselves and many leaving behind friends and grandchildren.
Saif Ali Das is just 60 years old but she looks much older and her walk is lopsided. Her husband was a drunk， she says， who died 12 years ago after a fall.
She had a daughter who died in hospital and a son who was murdered over a land dispute. After his death she was left entirely alone and fled to this place that she had heard was safe.
Sondi is a tough 80-year-old whose husband died young， she had to bring up her four children by herself. It is her daughter-in-law who effectively threw her out， saying it was her own husband who kept the family going and “as you have not got a husband you will have to look after yourself ”.
For many of these Bengalis， surrounded by Hindi speakers， it is as if they are living in a foreign land. Some are 12）feisty and resentful， others broken and afraid.
The authorities run four 13）ashrams—a form of spiritual commune—where some of the women are housed， but many need to beg to pay for rented accommodation. Some claim that the locals treat them quite roughly and it is only the pilgrims who are happy to win spiritual merit by giving them money.
Gauri Dasi left the Bengal border with Bangladesh because of tensions in the area in 1971. She arrived in Vrindavan with her husband， with whom she had three daughters.
He then deserted them and all her daughters were married off when they reached the age of 10.
Dasi has been living alone in Vrindavan for the past 15 years and feels pushed into dedicating her life to the devotion of Radha.
She gets paid a few coins for singing devotional songs in the temples. She has become one of India’s millions who have renounced the world to follow a spiritual path， but she is one of the reluctant ones.
Many of these servants of god appear to live tragic lives on the streets of this romance-drenched town.
The government and pilgrims can help keep these refugees from family life 14）stave off from starvation， but they are less able to quell injustices and age-old superstitions in Bengal.
For some here， to even cast an eye on a widow is considered deeply unlucky.
一直以来，成千上万的寡妇都会赶往印度北部的一个小城。她们被家人扫地出门或本来就是孤苦无依，不远千里来到这个地方，个中缘由无人说得清楚。
在印度，宗教圣地和朝圣之地比比皆是，但却很少有哪个地方能像维伦达文一样，与印度神明克利须那的关系那样紧密。维伦达文坐落在亚穆纳河沿岸，德里往东南方数小时车程可达。
在这个庙宇鳞次栉比的小城，克利须那还有与他青梅竹马的拉达，两人名字常常被人们挂在嘴边。
根据伟大史诗《摩呵罗婆多》所记载，克利须那出生在维伦达文附近的森林，也是在此地附近，这位年轻的浪子手持长笛，与牧牛女嬉戏，并与美丽的女神拉达坠入爱河，他们的风流韵事在印度家喻户晓。
拉达与克利须那这两个名字被永远地连在了一起，并记在了每个来到这个小城的朝圣者的心中，他们遵循宗教仪式，围着城里的寺庙与河坛（通向河流的台阶）行走。
然而，维伦达文也有其阴暗无情的一面——它被称为“寡妇之城”。
只要花点时间观察一下寺庙前进进出出的朝圣者，你就能看到这些寡妇，她们通常都是些老妇人，一身白色素衣，时常在行乞。
如今印度的寡妇已不再需要为其丈夫陪葬，但是她们的生活仍旧艰难。
由于被视为不祥之人，许多寡妇很快就发现她们失去了经济收入，还被她们村子里的人赶了出来。有些寡妇则被她们丈夫那边的亲戚赶走，以防她们继承钱财和房产。
没人能确切地解释清楚为何这个小城对全印度的寡妇能有这么大的吸引力——似乎，特别是来自于孟加拉地区的寡妇。
仅仅是来自这个地方的寡妇就多达6000人，其周边乡村的人数则更多。
有些寡妇确是真诚的朝圣者，是为了将自己的余生奉献给拉达/克利须那才来到这里。但其他很多人到这里来的目的都只是为了逃离野蛮残酷的家乡，或是像多余的包袱一样被她们的儿子和媳妇给扔了出来。
这是印度政府不愿被外界所知的印度社会不同寻常的一面。尽管他们也花了很大力气，诚心解决这个问题。
在一间小寺庙里，年轻的志愿者们在分派成堆的米饭和木豆，而有些寡妇则双腿交叉地坐在院子的地上。
在里面，一小群人正坐着讲述她们的故事。
她们大多数都是来自于西孟加拉邦，有些更是从超过1000英里 （1600千米）之外远道而来。她们通常都是孤身一人上路，离开了自己的亲朋子孙。
萨伊芙·阿丽·妲斯才刚满60岁，但是她看起来比实际年龄老多了，走路还一瘸一拐的。她谈到，她丈夫是个酒鬼，在12年前的一次跌倒中死去了。
她有个女儿，死在了医院里，还有个儿子，因为一场土地纠纷而被人谋杀了。在她儿子死去后，她就真是无依无靠了。她听说这里很安全，就逃到了这里。
索蒂是个坚强的女人，现已八十高龄。丈夫死得早，她不得不独力养大四个孩子。她的媳妇把她赶出了家门，并声称是她自己丈夫一手撑起这个家的，她说：“既然你没有丈夫了，你就得自己照顾自己。”
对这些孟加拉人中的大部分来说，周围说的全是印度语，她们就像生活在外国一样。她们当中，有些人忿忿不平，另一些人则崩溃不安。
当地政府修建了四个修行处——类似宗教修道院的地方，有些寡妇定居于此，但很多人需要行乞才能交得起房租。有些寡妇声称当地人对她们很粗暴，只有朝圣者才会为了积攒功德而愿意施舍她们。
1971年，由于孟加拉与孟加拉国的边境局势紧张，伽乌丽·妲丝离开了孟加拉。她和丈夫一起来到了维伦达文，他们共育有三个女儿。
然而此后，她丈夫抛弃了她们。而她的女儿们全部都刚满10岁就被嫁了出去。
妲丝已经独自一人在维伦达文住了15年之久，她现在感到她不得不把余生都奉献给拉达。
她现在靠在寺庙里吟唱圣歌，能得到一些硬币作为报酬。她和印度社会中数百万的寡妇一样，脱离尘世，遁入空门，但却是不得已而为之。
在这个富有浪漫色彩的小城里，许多这些神的仆人却在大街上过着悲惨的生活。
政府和朝圣者可以帮助这些从家庭生活的劫难中逃离出来的人免受饥饿，但他们对于孟加拉的不公现象和长久以来的封建迷信却无能为力。
对于这里的一些人来说，就连看一眼这些寡妇都被认为是极为不祥的。
India is jam-packed with holy sites and 1）pilgrimage destinations. But few places are as closely associated with the 2）deity 3）Krishna as is Vrindavan， on the banks of the Yamuna， a few hours’drive south-east of 4）Delhi.
Here， in this temple-crammed town， the name of Krishna is on everyone’s lips along with the name of his childhood sweetheart， Radha.
Krishna， according to the great epic 5）Mahabharata， was born in the nearby forest and it was around here that the young fluteplaying 6）trickster flirted with the cow herders and enjoyed that love affair known to every 7）Hindu with the beautiful， divine Radha.
Radha and Krishna， the two names bound together forever， and in the minds of every pilgrim who arrives in town to walk the ritual circuit of temples and bathing ghats （steps leading down towards the water）.
But Vrindavan has its darker， less-loving side—it is known as “the city of widows”.
Spend a little while observing the pilgrims coming in and out of the temples and you see these widows—usually quite elderly women—dressed in simple white and often begging.
Widows in India no longer throw themselves on the funeral 8）pyres of their husbands. But life for them can still be hard.
Considered 9）inauspicious， many soon find they have lost their income and are 10）ostracised in their home villages. Some are sent away by their husbands’ families who want to prevent them inheriting money or property.
Nobody can quite explain why this particular town attracts widows from all around India—particularly， it seems， from Bengal.
There are as many as 6，000 of them in this place alone and more in the surrounding countryside.
Some come as genuine pilgrims to devote their remaining years to the service of Radha/Krishna， but many others come here to escape from brutal family homes or have been flung out by their sons and daughters-in-law as unwanted baggage.
This is one unusual aspect of Indian society that the government might prefer the outside world not to see， despite all their genuine efforts to solve the problem.
In a small temple， some of them are sitting cross-legged on the courtyard floor while young volunteers slosh out piles of rice and 11）dal. Sitting inside， people in a smaller group tell their stories.
Most had travelled here from West Bengal， for some a journey of over 1，000 miles （1，600km）—often by themselves and many leaving behind friends and grandchildren.
Saif Ali Das is just 60 years old but she looks much older and her walk is lopsided. Her husband was a drunk， she says， who died 12 years ago after a fall.
She had a daughter who died in hospital and a son who was murdered over a land dispute. After his death she was left entirely alone and fled to this place that she had heard was safe.
Sondi is a tough 80-year-old whose husband died young， she had to bring up her four children by herself. It is her daughter-in-law who effectively threw her out， saying it was her own husband who kept the family going and “as you have not got a husband you will have to look after yourself ”.
For many of these Bengalis， surrounded by Hindi speakers， it is as if they are living in a foreign land. Some are 12）feisty and resentful， others broken and afraid.
The authorities run four 13）ashrams—a form of spiritual commune—where some of the women are housed， but many need to beg to pay for rented accommodation. Some claim that the locals treat them quite roughly and it is only the pilgrims who are happy to win spiritual merit by giving them money.
Gauri Dasi left the Bengal border with Bangladesh because of tensions in the area in 1971. She arrived in Vrindavan with her husband， with whom she had three daughters.
He then deserted them and all her daughters were married off when they reached the age of 10.
Dasi has been living alone in Vrindavan for the past 15 years and feels pushed into dedicating her life to the devotion of Radha.
She gets paid a few coins for singing devotional songs in the temples. She has become one of India’s millions who have renounced the world to follow a spiritual path， but she is one of the reluctant ones.
Many of these servants of god appear to live tragic lives on the streets of this romance-drenched town.
The government and pilgrims can help keep these refugees from family life 14）stave off from starvation， but they are less able to quell injustices and age-old superstitions in Bengal.
For some here， to even cast an eye on a widow is considered deeply unlucky.
一直以来，成千上万的寡妇都会赶往印度北部的一个小城。她们被家人扫地出门或本来就是孤苦无依，不远千里来到这个地方，个中缘由无人说得清楚。
在印度，宗教圣地和朝圣之地比比皆是，但却很少有哪个地方能像维伦达文一样，与印度神明克利须那的关系那样紧密。维伦达文坐落在亚穆纳河沿岸，德里往东南方数小时车程可达。
在这个庙宇鳞次栉比的小城，克利须那还有与他青梅竹马的拉达，两人名字常常被人们挂在嘴边。
根据伟大史诗《摩呵罗婆多》所记载，克利须那出生在维伦达文附近的森林，也是在此地附近，这位年轻的浪子手持长笛，与牧牛女嬉戏，并与美丽的女神拉达坠入爱河，他们的风流韵事在印度家喻户晓。
拉达与克利须那这两个名字被永远地连在了一起，并记在了每个来到这个小城的朝圣者的心中，他们遵循宗教仪式，围着城里的寺庙与河坛（通向河流的台阶）行走。
然而，维伦达文也有其阴暗无情的一面——它被称为“寡妇之城”。
只要花点时间观察一下寺庙前进进出出的朝圣者，你就能看到这些寡妇，她们通常都是些老妇人，一身白色素衣，时常在行乞。
如今印度的寡妇已不再需要为其丈夫陪葬，但是她们的生活仍旧艰难。
由于被视为不祥之人，许多寡妇很快就发现她们失去了经济收入，还被她们村子里的人赶了出来。有些寡妇则被她们丈夫那边的亲戚赶走，以防她们继承钱财和房产。
没人能确切地解释清楚为何这个小城对全印度的寡妇能有这么大的吸引力——似乎，特别是来自于孟加拉地区的寡妇。
仅仅是来自这个地方的寡妇就多达6000人，其周边乡村的人数则更多。
有些寡妇确是真诚的朝圣者，是为了将自己的余生奉献给拉达/克利须那才来到这里。但其他很多人到这里来的目的都只是为了逃离野蛮残酷的家乡，或是像多余的包袱一样被她们的儿子和媳妇给扔了出来。
这是印度政府不愿被外界所知的印度社会不同寻常的一面。尽管他们也花了很大力气，诚心解决这个问题。
在一间小寺庙里，年轻的志愿者们在分派成堆的米饭和木豆，而有些寡妇则双腿交叉地坐在院子的地上。
在里面，一小群人正坐着讲述她们的故事。
她们大多数都是来自于西孟加拉邦，有些更是从超过1000英里 （1600千米）之外远道而来。她们通常都是孤身一人上路，离开了自己的亲朋子孙。
萨伊芙·阿丽·妲斯才刚满60岁，但是她看起来比实际年龄老多了，走路还一瘸一拐的。她谈到，她丈夫是个酒鬼，在12年前的一次跌倒中死去了。
她有个女儿，死在了医院里，还有个儿子，因为一场土地纠纷而被人谋杀了。在她儿子死去后，她就真是无依无靠了。她听说这里很安全，就逃到了这里。
索蒂是个坚强的女人，现已八十高龄。丈夫死得早，她不得不独力养大四个孩子。她的媳妇把她赶出了家门，并声称是她自己丈夫一手撑起这个家的，她说：“既然你没有丈夫了，你就得自己照顾自己。”
对这些孟加拉人中的大部分来说，周围说的全是印度语，她们就像生活在外国一样。她们当中，有些人忿忿不平，另一些人则崩溃不安。
当地政府修建了四个修行处——类似宗教修道院的地方，有些寡妇定居于此，但很多人需要行乞才能交得起房租。有些寡妇声称当地人对她们很粗暴，只有朝圣者才会为了积攒功德而愿意施舍她们。
1971年，由于孟加拉与孟加拉国的边境局势紧张，伽乌丽·妲丝离开了孟加拉。她和丈夫一起来到了维伦达文，他们共育有三个女儿。
然而此后，她丈夫抛弃了她们。而她的女儿们全部都刚满10岁就被嫁了出去。
妲丝已经独自一人在维伦达文住了15年之久，她现在感到她不得不把余生都奉献给拉达。
她现在靠在寺庙里吟唱圣歌，能得到一些硬币作为报酬。她和印度社会中数百万的寡妇一样，脱离尘世，遁入空门，但却是不得已而为之。
在这个富有浪漫色彩的小城里，许多这些神的仆人却在大街上过着悲惨的生活。
政府和朝圣者可以帮助这些从家庭生活的劫难中逃离出来的人免受饥饿，但他们对于孟加拉的不公现象和长久以来的封建迷信却无能为力。
对于这里的一些人来说，就连看一眼这些寡妇都被认为是极为不祥的。