Vrindavan, India. For centuries, widows in India would throw themselves on their husband's funeral pyre, reflecting the view that they were of little social worth without their protector and breadwinner. Although the practice was outlawed years ago, traditional Hindu culture still expects a widow to renounce all earthly pleasures and to mourn her husband's death for the remainder of her life. She is prohibited from remarriage, must break her bangles, shave her head, subsist on a severely restricted diet and wear simple white saris as the symbol of death. Whether young or old, Indian widows are often cast out of their family homes by their children or in-laws. They end up destitute and quite literally on the streets, abused, sexually exploited and neglected, particularly in Bengali culture where even their shadows are seen as bad luck. Over the years, thousands of Indian widows have migrated, either voluntarily are involuntarily, to so-called “widow cities” such as Vrindravan and Benares where they live hand-to-mouth, relying on charity or chanting up to five hours a day at local temples -- essentially singing for their supper -- in return for 10 cents and a bowl of rice.