The Widows of Varanasi
Come to Kashi and die." For centuries, devout Hindus
have descended on the ancient town on the banks of the
Ganga to do just that. Here they live out the remainder
of their lives, firm in the belief that death in Kashi or
Varanasi will bring them moksha-release from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
For some, the waiting can be cruel, especially if
it Stretches into decades of an inhumanely threadbare
existence-as it has for 8,000 widows who came to Varanasi
a long time ago to live in conditions that are a foul blot on the face of society
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/widows-of-varanasi/1/180135.html