Krishna's Waiting Room

In the same time and space, many Indias co-exist. 

A paradox reveals itself in a small temple town where thousands of widows live – waiting for death, and salvation.

A torch and her pouch of tobacco in her hand, Manu Ghosh, 80, left her home 20 years ago, without telling anyone.

Her visit to her family after two decades raises the expectation of her return in her son’s heart but for Manu Ghosh her life now belongs at the feet of Lord Krishna at Vrindavan.

Thousands of widows, like Manu Ghosh, live at Vrindavan. A popular pilgrimage centre (150 km from the capital city of New Delhi), this temple town provides a sanctuary to over 6000 widows.

While some find solace in spirituality and others in the sisterhood of ashram-life, the vast majority of the migrant women in Vrindavan beg on the streets. The garish fervour of Vrindavan contrasts with their penurious existence and solitude. Why did they come? What made them stay? What are they waiting for? ‘Krishna’s Waiting Room’ is an intimate window into the lives of the widows of Vrindavan.

Intertwined with their story is the film-maker’s own introspective journey into this space. Kavita’s narrative places these women on the larger canvas of a society which has reduced them to mere objects of charity. It questions societal norms and the politics of inheritance and economic entitlement where women always get shortchanged.

The facade of the film is a mosaic of colour, music and devotional fervour, but at the core are the existential dilemmas the characters face.