Widows throwing flowers into the air during a Holi celebration at the Meera Sahavagini ashram, in Vrindavan, in the northern Indian State of Uttar Pradesh, yesterday. Traditionally, in Hindu culture, widows are expected to renounce earthly pleasure so they do not celebrate Holi but for the first time, women at the shelter for widows abandoned by their families marked the festival by throwing flowers and coloured powder. Holi, also known as the Festival of Colours, heralds the beginning of spring and is celebrated all over India.

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