Trekking the Globe

From the movie "Water" which demonstrates
the plight of widows in India 

Having just finished reading  "Trekking the Globe with mostly Gentle Footsteps" by Irene Butler, there are some new things to learn.

The new names- Kolcutta for Calcutta and Mumbai for Bombay, are actually their original names changed back again following India's independence.

The children on the streets are sometimes kept out of school by those who are caring for them, for the purpose of begging on the street.  If we are wanting to give to the beggars, the poorest of all are the women in white.  They are the widows.

The funeral shroud for men is white, and saffron for women.

The Hijra are the third gender.  Castration is now officially outlawed in India.  This is not new as we can recall reading about the Ethiopian Eunuch in the Bible.  The author of this Trekking book mentions that a Hijra is usually at every wedding and celebration of birth, to give a blessing.  My interest piqued, I went to Wikipedia to research "Hijra".  Here the comments are no so positive.  It is a hard life for them.    Click on This: An Indian Woman's Fight for Widows