Biswajeet Banerjee | The News Minute| August 9, 2014| Hundreds of widows defied age old tradition to celebrate ‘Raksha Bandhan’ for the first time in Vrindavan today.The day was indeed memorable for the widows, shunned by their families. Often treated as inauspicious, they were barred from wearing coloured clothes and ornaments and eating garlic, onion and non-vegetarian food.About 100 widows mostly in their 80s were engaged in making colourful Rakhis in Meera Sahabhagi and Chetan Vihar ashram to organise Rakhsha Bandhan in a massive scale. Such was their enthusiasm that they started making ‘Rakhi’ right from the first week of July and prepared around 1,000 such sacred threads. Apart from around 800 widows, at least 100 children from various schools of Delhi took part in Rakhi celebration which was organised at Meera Sahabhagini ashram on Saturday. Widows also tied Rakhi to local holy men and Brahmins to mark the occasion to break the tradition. The widows also participated in cultural programmes especially chalked out for the occasion.At least ten widows from Vrindavan and Varanasi will visit Prime Minister's Residence with the Rakhis on behalf of around 2,000 widows living in Vrindavan and Varanasi on Sunday.Sulabh founder Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, who takes care of around 1,000 widows in Vrindavan, observed that such an initiative will bring cheers to their lives. “So, my idea how to change thoughts, behaviour and attitude of the people of this country towards widows of India, who are their mothers, sisters, aunties and so and so forth,” Dr Pathak explained.