She opted this life by choice or by compulsion…..this was the first thought which came to my mind when I saw her at the banks of river ganges in bithoor (near kanpur,india). She was one of the ‘sadhvis’ preparing for their meals, after a bath in that sacred river….must be around 80 years…..and the first thing which struck me on seeing her was her hair…..if she could stand straight, it would cross her knees…at her youth…it would have been a point of envy for many…. but she did’nt care a damn for those ‘once beautiful’ hair now…that was evident by their disarrangement….by this age she must have lost interest, I suppose…..but she has not given up, that was very much clear to me by simple observations….she looked so vibrant in her discussions with her fellow ‘sadhus’, doing all the chores herself….i kept wondering about her past…she would have been a beautiful lady…..with long black hair and a radiance on her face….she must have had a content family life….must have kids too….where are they now …does she remember them??? Or does her family feels for her??? If she had no family ever, did she travel so long all alone ???,,,,the more I thought , the more she fascinated me….i felt like wishing her all the best in life….but then…I felt too small for it….you know many of us die as early as twenty and get buried at eighty….here she was….eighty….still ‘struggling’ but strong…..refusing to stop….
