Krishna Maya was widowed at the age of nine. She was married to a man who was 16 years her senior. A month into their marriage, he died due to an unidentifiable illness. She never remarried as tradition forbade her to do so. Where customs dictate that a married woman shall take nothing from her family, her mother took her back into the family. She lived with her family for the next 30 years until her move to Benares. Krishna Maya said that she chose to come to Benares because it was a spiritual place. “I get to be closer to the Lord this way.” She said. Her brother raised S$185 to get her a place in the Nepalese ashram. She has been in Benares for 40 years and is happy to be here. “Everyone is like a friend in this ashram,” she said, referring to the fellow Nepalese widows whom she lives with. Krishna Maya wakes up at 3.30 am every morning to chant prayers for Lord Shiva. She and her friends would head to Lalita Ghat along the Ganga to shower and perform puja. Sometimes in the afternoon, they would gather to sing for the Lord, or go down to the market to shop for ingredients to make dinner. Krishna Maya, 79, hopes to attain moksha eventually. |
