Honorable Mention / 2023 / Portraiture / Culture

• Photographer
  Mariana Zilbershteyn, Australia

On March 6 2023 hundreds of widows gathered at the Gopinath Temple in Vrindavan (Uttar Pradesh, India) to celebrate Holi, the festival of colours.
This widow, lives in an Ashram in Vrindavan. A few years ago she had a disagreement with her daughter-in-law. Her son sided with his wife and told her to leave home and go to Vrindavan and beg. The lady left even-though her son later apologised and asked her to stay. In 2022 she was advised that her son died. However, she feels it wasn’t a natural death as he was healthy.
This image was shot as the widow was lead away due to her distraught state.