As many as 162 poor women will be given clothes and food grains and offered pooja as part of Jeevanta Durga Pooja to be conducted in Hubballi on March 8.

The pooja will be held at Gokul Garden on Gokul Road at 10 a.m. It will mark the second anniversary of Shri Mata Ashrama and the 162nd birth anniversary of Sri Sarada Devi.

Ashrama president Mata Tejomayi and convener Mata Amulyamayi told newspersons here on Friday that the two-day anniversary on March 7 and 8 would be marked by religious and cultural programmes at the ashram premises and Gokul Garden. The ritual worshipping women as an incarnation of Goddess Durga, they said, was in line with what Swami Vivekananda advocated.

On March 7, the Pustaka Bhandar, Arogyadhama and the new office building of the ashram at Dollars Colony would be inaugurated by Sri Swami Raghaveshanandji Maharaj of Ooty, Swami Muktidanandji of Mysuru and Swami Vijayanand Saraswati of Dharwad.

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Ashram to worship 162 poor women

"I have no one. I've lost everything. My children are gone, my parents are gone. My husband's family doesn't ask about me. They don't even look for me, they don't even know if I eat," says Manu Ghosh, 85.

That's her above, seen before and after the Hindu festival of Holi at her ashram in northern India.

Manu was married at age 10 and found her way to the northern city of Vrindavan at 37. By that time, she was already widowed and had lost three children who she says all died prematurely. Manu is one of many widows among the ashrams of Vrindavan whom I met covering this year's Holi festival.

Holi is the festival of colors, culminating in the riotous tossing of powder and water balloons meant to herald the arrival of spring. Bonfires on the eve of this ancient celebration mark the triumph of good over evil and are seen as a chance to forgive. It's celebrated wherever there are people of Indian descent Bangladesh, Nepal, Guyana, South Africa, but here the celebrations take on the hue of liberation.

Hindu tradition frowns on widows celebrating at such festivals. In some parts of the culture, the women are seen as the cause of their husband's death and relatives believe they should be cast out. The segregation of widows can be so extreme that in some places they are prevented from attending family gatherings, including weddings. Many poor widows are abandoned by their families and left to fend for themselves. According to census data, India is believed to have tens of millions of widows. Thousands live out their lives in the ashrams in the ancient temple-filled city of Vrindavan, popularly known as the City of Widows.

But when the widows of Vrindavan ignore the social taboo and join in the fun, Holi takes on a whole new dimension. Cavorting in the chaos of color, women, young and old, stand in showers of rose petals and marigolds and playfully smear each other with fuchsia, green and gold powder. With this act of joy, the woman fight back against restrictions that have ostracized them.

Photographer Susannah Ireland and I spent two days with the widows as they went through their morning rituals, nimbly preparing blossoms that perfumed the celebrations, and shopping for new saris. Widows traditionally wear white, but breaking the mold, they go for a splash of color.

Widows are reclaiming their "womanhood," says Annapurna Sharma, 38, seen fixing her hair in the image above. She traveled four hundred miles from Varanasi for her first Holi since her husband died six years ago. And took the daring step of applying makeup for the occasion.

Urmila Sarkar, 73, balancing blossoms on her head in the image above, says her family wants her to come home, but she prefers to stay at the ashram. "My husband is now Lord Krishna," she says flashing a coquettish smile.

It's not just color that is tossed around but petals of roses, marigolds and daisies are meticulously gathered to be thrown into the air marking the beginning of festivities. For the third consecutive year, Sulabh International, an Indian non-profit group has helped the widows stage the festivities inside the Meera Sahbhagini Ashram, where they live.

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For India's Widows, A Riot Of Color, An Act Of Liberation

Through his problems Clarke has always remained focused on his goals, given perspective at a young age by a horrific freak accident.

Before his athletics career Clarke only had eyes for mountaineering, desperate to be an explorer until one tragic day that stays with him and inspires him on the track.

When I was 15, I was climbing with a guide up the back side of the Grand Combin, near Verbier in Switzerland, he said. There was a group of six Germans, and one in the middle slipped off the cliff. Because I was with the only guide, he had to organise the mountain rescue because there were 70mph winds and the helicopters couldnt get in.

Traumatically, I was taken down to this group of Germans in their thirties crying their eyes out. Aged 15, Im sitting there going, My God.

The guide came back with an ice axe and I was wondering if this was a film or reality. When we were back at the hut, there was just a hand hanging off the stretcher.

It makes you realise, dont make mistakes. Its so important to be the best at what you do and put in the right preparation. This guy didnt have crampons on. Its like turning up to the track without spikes. Its a no-brainer. What it put into perspective is the fragility of what you do. And certainly when it comes to the track, when youre on the edge physically you value what youre trying to do and youre properly focused.

It is a shocking story that will forever live with Clarke, as will his theology and religious studies degree from the University of Bristol. I studied Zen Buddhism at university. The combination of mountaineering experience, Buddhism and this sport has made me incredibly focused.

Being in that call room, you have to have the ultimate focus. You have to be in a state of Zen and be in a meditative place. If you let anything in, its game over.

Clarke could also have told his team-mates the tale dating back to his childhood when he met the Dalai Lama who blessed me 100 times and hugged me for an hour. But that one does not relate to athletics.

By Friday night Clarke will hope to have a second senior medal to add to the bronze medal he won at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

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Team GB captain Lawrence Clarke's near-death experience inspires him on the track