Condition of Indian widows described in the poem Dawn at Puri by Jayanta Mahapatra. (LINE 4—12 LINES)

While walking on the Puri sea beach at dawn, the poet Jayanta Mahapatra notices a gathering of widows on that holy sea-beach. The poet describes their appearance and their pathetic condition magnificently. They are dressed in white sari. The phrase “past the centers of their lives” signifies that they are at least middle aged woman. On the other hand it may be interpreted that they have crossed their most important portion i.e. center of their lives. They all are waiting to enter the Great Temple of Lord Jagannath to worship. They do it as a ritual only for their dead husband. Their eyes are described as austere as if they have no joy, no worldly longings or desire because they are widow. They seem very much helpless and now they are bound to suffer like a fish caught in a net having nothing to do to get rid of. They are gathering like the unimportant “ruined’ leprous shells leaning against one another” on the beach. The phrase “a mass of crouched faces without names” also suggests that those widows have no proper identity or individuality. They are presented as a common noun in the society.