A widow in India is not allowed to wear colored sari's nor jewelery, they mostly veil themself in white.

This photo as a reflection by seeing recently a documentaire about widows in India left behind in places like Varanasi expelled from the family.
Widows are not supposed or not wanted to marry again and they often get the lowest status in the family.
By Indian law they inherit the properties of the man, not always liked by the family so her life becomes often unbearable.
In the South this habit is less pronounced as people have a lot of respect towards elder people but still occasionally present.

The photo speaks for itself, I think ..... although it looks like .... I ease your mind by informing that she was a joyful lady to talk to and seeing her on the LCD she was charmed shyly.